McLaren’s CEO has formally written to Mohammed Ben Sulayem demanding Formula 1 ban multi-team ownership. The FIA president is already saying it is “not the right way.”

The confrontation has moved beyond rhetoric. Zak Brown has sent a six-page letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem demanding the governing body legislate to prohibit any future common ownership of Formula 1 teams and unwind the alliances that already exist. Ben Sulayem has confirmed publicly that the FIA is now investigating the issue. The two men will meet at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, the first opportunity for the conversation to move beyond letters and statements.

The specific arrangement Brown wants dismantled is Red Bull’s two-decade ownership of both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, the team historically known as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and VCARB before its current branding. Brown’s letter cites multiple instances where the structure has produced what he describes as a competitive distortion. The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, where Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap in his Racing Bulls car on the final lap to deny Lando Norris a championship point in his title fight against Max Verstappen, is named directly. So is the recent Miami Grand Prix, where Liam Lawson was reportedly instructed to move aside for Verstappen during the race.

The personnel movement evidence is more damaging still. Laurent Mekies was permitted to switch from team principal of Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing within days of Christian Horner’s dismissal last July, with no gardening leave required. When McLaren signed Rob Marshall from Red Bull in 2024, the team had to wait nine months and pay compensation before he could begin. Andrea Landi’s move from Racing Bulls to Red Bull was announced on 17 April with a start date of 1 July, again without the extended waiting period imposed on rivals. Brown wrote that these arrangements “reinforce perception that internal firewalls are not operating in a way that would be accepted between genuinely independent competitors.”

The timing of the letter is no coincidence. Mercedes have reportedly emerged as a bidder for Otro Capital’s 24 percent stake in Alpine, originally purchased in 2023 for 200 million euros and held by a consortium that includes actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes and golfer Rory McIlroy. Christian Horner is part of a separate consortium pursuing the same stake. If either deal closes, F1 would have a second team with a structural relationship to an existing manufacturer. Brown’s letter is, in part, an attempt to prevent that outcome before it materializes.

Ben Sulayem’s public response has been carefully framed but unambiguous in direction. “I do believe that owning two teams is not the right way,” the FIA president said. “This is my personal point of view, but we are looking into it because it’s a complicated area.” He has gone further in other settings, suggesting that the only acceptable justification for multi-team ownership is one that does not involve blocking rivals or accumulating governance influence. The standard he has articulated is one Red Bull, as currently structured, would struggle to meet.

Brown’s letter ends with a request for further conversation. He has stated publicly that the first opportunity to discuss the matter formally with Ben Sulayem will be the Canadian Grand Prix from 22 to 24 May. McLaren is also working on its own recommendations for how F1’s regulations could be tightened to address the issue. The most consequential off-track confrontation of the 2026 season arrives in Montreal this weekend. The FIA has six days to decide whose side it is on.

Thumbnail: Thumbnail credits: Red Bull Content Pool / Mark Thompson