McLaren CEO Zak Brown sent a formal letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem calling for new regulations that would prohibit common ownership structures across multiple Formula 1 teams. The communication, confirmed by three paddock sources, does not seek retroactive enforcement but aims to close what Brown characterizes as a competitive-integrity gap before the 2026 power-unit regulation cycle begins.
Brown's letter follows months of internal FIA deliberation on whether existing rules adequately address scenarios where a single entity—private equity fund, automaker, or holding company—controls stakes in more than one constructor. The FIA remains split. Two commission members told colleagues the current conflict-of-interest framework is sufficient if properly monitored. Three others believe explicit prohibition is the only enforceable standard. No vote is scheduled.
The timing matters. Ford announced its Red Bull Powertrains partnership in May 2023, structured as a technical collaboration rather than an equity stake, but multiple team principals have asked whether Ford could later take a minority position in Red Bull Racing while also evaluating McLaren's rumored sale process. Brown's letter does not name Ford, Red Bull, or any specific transaction. It argues in general terms that technological convergence under the 2026 cost cap—combined with shared data systems mandated by Liberty Media's push for standardized telemetry—makes multi-team ownership a vector for rule circumvention that regulators cannot adequately police.
What Brown wants: a bright-line rule in the sporting regulations stating that no single shareholder may hold more than 15 percent of two separate constructors. The threshold mirrors UEFA's club-ownership provisions and would allow passive index-fund stakes but block controlling arrangements. Brown's proposal includes a 24-month transition window for any existing structures, though none currently exist at that ownership level. Mercedes holds a 33 percent stake in McLaren Applied, the technology subsidiary, but not McLaren Racing itself—a distinction Brown's framework would preserve.
The commercial subtext is franchise valuation. If multi-team ownership becomes normalized, it creates a tier system: teams available to strategic consolidators trade at different multiples than standalone assets. Sponsors care because activation rights become muddier when two teams share an ultimate parent. One global brand currently in discussions with both McLaren and Alpine confirmed its deal structure assumes single-team exclusivity within F1; common ownership would trigger renegotiation clauses in the $45 million-per-year range.
Ben Sulayem has not replied to Brown's letter publicly. Privately, he told one team principal he views ownership structure as a Liberty Media commercial concern, not an FIA sporting matter, unless specific rule violations occur. Liberty declined to comment but has previously stated it does not regulate team ownership beyond the Concorde Agreement's change-of-control notification requirements. That leaves enforcement in a gap: the FIA believes it is Liberty's problem, Liberty believes existing contracts are sufficient, and Brown believes neither is true.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, asked about Brown's position at the Miami paddock, said his team has no current ownership discussions with Ford or any other manufacturer beyond the technical partnership already announced. He did not say whether Red Bull would oppose a prospective ban. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he agrees with the principle but doubts the FIA has appetite for the fight, noting that UEFA's multi-club rules took six years and three lawsuits to implement.
What to watch: The FIA's June 2025 World Motor Sport Council meeting in Geneva is the next window for sporting-regulation amendments. Brown is lobbying individual commission members ahead of the May preliminary session. Ford has scheduled a "strategic partnerships" review for July, according to two supplier sources, which will include an evaluation of how deeper F1 involvement—financial or technical—fits the company's electrification budget through 2027. If the FIA delays, Brown's letter itself becomes the enforcement mechanism: it establishes a public record that makes any future multi-team deal politically harder to defend, even if technically legal.
The scaffold is already in place. Private equity firms have approached four teams in the past 18 months about minority stakes. None closed because the buyers wanted portfolio optionality—the ability to later add a second team if one became available at the right price. Brown is naming the thing before it becomes the norm.
The takeaway
Brown's FIA letter seeks multi-team ownership ban by June **2025** council meeting—targets Ford-Red Bull structure risk, complicates sponsor exclusivity and PE valuations.
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