Zak Brown Sends Six-Page Letter to FIA President Over Mercedes-Alpine Ownership Concerns

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has reportedly submitted a six-page letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem expressing concerns about the risks posed by common ownership structures between Formula 1 teams, according to reports. The correspondence is understood to address the prospect of Mercedes acquiring a 24 percent minority shareholding in Alpine — a stake that investment fund Otro Capital is reportedly preparing to sell.

The issue has gained renewed attention in recent weeks following reports linking Mercedes to the Alpine stake. While Brown has voiced this position publicly on several occasions, the decision to formalise his concerns in writing to the FIA signals an escalation in his efforts to prompt regulatory action at the sport’s governing body.

During a press conference held at the McLaren Technology Centre, Brown cited a number of specific areas of concern. Among them was the absence of gardening leave restrictions between teams that share a common owner — pointing to the existing relationship between Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls as a reference point. He also flagged potential on-track assistance, referencing Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix as an example, along with questions over sporting integrity in regulatory discussions and the sharing of resources between affiliated teams.

The underlying concern, as Brown frames it, is that teams without strategic alliances or cross-ownership arrangements could be placed at a structural competitive disadvantage in a sport where marginal gains are decisive.

Formula 1 has long tolerated the dual-team structure operated by Red Bull, whose satellite outfit traces its origins back more than two decades to the creation of Scuderia Toro Rosso. Brown’s position is not that existing arrangements should be dismantled, but rather that the model should not be permitted to expand further over the medium to long term.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem acknowledged the matter during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, recognising the need to establish clear regulation around an area that currently lacks specific governance. No formal rule changes have been announced, but the FIA’s public acknowledgement suggests the issue is under active consideration.

The debate is not without precedent in other sporting contexts. Across Europe’s top professional football leagues and major North American sports leagues, regulations explicitly prohibit ownership stakes in multiple competing teams within the same competition — a framework Formula 1 has yet to replicate in any comprehensive form.

The timing of Brown’s intervention is notable. McLaren currently leads the 2025 Constructors’ Championship and has emerged as one of the sport’s dominant forces, making the team’s CEO one of the more influential voices in the paddock. Should Mercedes successfully acquire a stake in Alpine, it would create a scenario in which two of McLaren’s direct rivals are connected through a shared shareholder — a dynamic Brown appears determined to prevent from becoming a feature of the sport’s competitive landscape.

Formula 1 has not yet issued a formal response to Brown’s letter, and no timeline has been indicated for any potential regulatory update addressing common ownership. The matter is expected to remain a point of discussion as the 2026 season approaches, a year that also brings sweeping technical regulation changes across both combustion and electrical power unit output, as confirmed by the Autosport report.