Brown takes aim at 'unhealthy' AlphaTauri and Red Bull alliance

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes the alliance between AlphaTauri andRed Bull is "not in the spirit of the regulations" as questions areraised in Formula 1. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recentlyannounced that the team would strengthen their alliance withAlphaTauri amid its change of management, in a bid to change theirpoor performance from recent seasons. AlphaTauri's links to RedBull have been scrutinised in F1 before, when they were under theguise of Toro Rosso during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. In 2008 ToroRosso won their first race at Monza with a car that was similar tothe Red Bull, with former Team Principal Franz Tost recalling howthe governing body changed the rules to make it harder for them toshare resources. These concerns have been renewed as AlphaTauri isset to rely on Red Bull more in whichever way the regulations canpermit, while the FIA has assured that it is closely monitoring thealliance. Brown: It's an unhealthy situation In an open letter,Brown has expressed his concerns over their partnership potentiallyimpacting their independence and sharing of resources to gain anadvantage. “Most other major sports prohibit the ownership of twoteams within the same league because of the obvious potentialdamage that it does to competition," said Brown. “It’s an unhealthysituation because it impacts decisions made both on and off thetrack. Whether it’s a case of having access to more data, sharingcomponents/personnel, or even having influence over a strategicvote, it’s not in the spirit of the regulations. “It’s important tostand up for independence, competition and fairness, and I’d liketo see changes in the regulations to ensure that in future, theystop influence spreading from one team to another through strategicalliances and especially through ownership. Formula 1 should betrue to its brand, and every team – except power units – should betotally independent of each other. “I believe Formula 1 fansuniversally believe in fairness in competition and a level playingfield, and would reject any actions that compromise the true spiritof competition within Formula 1. “Part sharing of information,shared ownership models, and strategic alliances within thesporting fabric of Formula 1 will only serve to undermine the fans’belief in fair and fierce competition.”