Brown’s attack
In the F1 paddock, the latest political battle opposing the various teams seems to be about the so-called ‘team B’. Before the Miami weekend, there was a direct attack by McLaren CEO Zak Brown on this system of interdependence between teams: the American manager criticized Red Bull’s multi-ownership (which has been managing two teams, Red Bull and Racing Bulls, for 20 years), the close technical and personnel collaboration between Ferrari and Haas, and also the possibility of Toto Wolff and Mercedes entering the Alpine team’s shareholding. The Austrian manager and the Star brand are indeed in negotiations to acquire 24% of the Enstone team, put up for sale by the investment fund Otro Capital.
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Ben Sulayem against the Wolff-Alpine agreement
Brown’s complaints now seem to have found a potentially significant ally in the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. As reported by Reuters, the federation’s number one spoke to journalists present in Miami saying he is “personally against” this type of interdependence between the different teams on the grid. “As long as you don’t try to acquire it (the share) because you don’t want others to acquire it, or also to get more voting power when it comes to regulations, then maybe it’s okay – acknowledged the FIA chief – but in general I believe owning two (teams) is not the right path. This is my personal point of view, but we are examining the issue because it is a complicated area.”
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Red Bull waits
Since there was talk of interest also from former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner regarding Alpine shares, a rumor circulated in the paddock that Wolff wanted to acquire those shares also to keep his historic rival out of the Circus. However, this reconstruction was denied by the person concerned. It remains to be seen whether the FIA will really take an official position on this thorny issue or if Ben Sulayem’s words will remain personal. A ‘veto’ on Wolff’s entry into Alpine could indeed automatically call into question the legitimacy of Red Bull managing two teams under the same ownership.
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