McLaren voice “big concerns” over Red Bull-AlphaTauri F1 alliance

Red Bull owns both F1 teams and AlphaTauri are currently benefiting from the forging of a closer alliance with the reigning world champions. 

After a poor start to the season, AlphaTauri’s resurgence and progress towards the end of the campaign raised eyebrows among rival teams amid growing technical collaborations. 

AlphaTauri adopted Red Bull’s rear suspension in Singapore and enjoyed a notable step forward in competitiveness as they lifted themselves from the bottom of the constructors’ championship to seventh by the season’s end. 

Brown is adamant the relationship between Red Bull and AlphaTauri is something that needs to be reviewed. 

"The million-dollar question that none of us know is how early did they [Red Bull] turn off this year's car?” Brown told Autosport. 

"We know we've outperformed the others in the development race, and we know we've closed the gap to Red Bull but what none of us know is: did Red Bull stop, and we just caught up, or were they still developing?

"Also, we have some big concerns over the alliance between AlphaTauri and Red Bull. I think that is something that needs to be addressed in the future.

"So, I still think the sport has a way to go to make sure that everyone is truly independent.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has rubbished suggestions that his team’s closer ties with AlphaTauri could lead to a repeat of the ‘Pink Mercedes’ controversy. 

Meanwhile, F1’s governing body, the FIA, has announced it is planning fresh guidance on team collaboration rules to avoid potential breaches.