Christian Horner lifts lid on 'serious talks' with Lewis Hamilton about joining Red Bull
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has stated his ‘big concerns’ over the new technical partnership between Red Bull and AlphaTauri ahead of the 2024 season. The Woking-based outfit are hoping to make even more gains on Christian Horner’s organisation next year, but are fearful that they could benefit from increased cooperation with their sister team.
McLaren became Red Bull’s strongest competitor towards the end of the season as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were frequently at the top of the grid alongside Max Verstappen. But Brown has raised fears of AlphaTauri bridging the gap between themselves and the top sides.
Horner has insisted that no rules are being broken and the FIA completed compliance checks, but Brown is still worried over the bonds being formed between Red Bull and AlphaTauri.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about Red Bull’s 2024 campaign, Brown explained: “The million-dollar question that none of us know is how early did they turn off this year’s car? 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?
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
JUST IN Norris given advice from Brundle as McLaren warned he may ‘have to walk away'[LATEST]
“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.”
Brown developed his concerns regarding the partnership, adding: “It is two teams with common ownership, which you wouldn’t have in other sports. [They could benefit] a lot of different ways. There is a reason why they are moving a lot of their people from Italy. As Helmut [Marko] has said, they are going to do absolutely everything they can to benefit from having two teams. I get that because that’s what the rules say. But I think we need to look at the governance of the sport around technical alliances.”
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Don’t miss…
Lewis Hamilton snubbed as McLaren boss names best three drivers in F1[INTERVIEW]
McLaren chief in Lando Norris future admission after Ferrari and Red Bull links[REACTION]
Verstappen told Norris will ‘surprise’ star at Red Bull as rumours persist[GOSSIP]
Mercedes had a similar controversy in 2020 when Racing Point was using the Silver Arrows’ wind tunnel and produced a similar car to Mercedes’ 2019 vehicle before they were found guilty of breaching IP rules.
Horner has claimed that no such rules are being broken by Red Bull and AlphaTauri. “We’re an awfully long way from a ‘Pink Mercedes’,” he said. “There are some transferable components that are clearly listed within the regulations that you’re allowed to supply and that’s what they get.
“When you look at the car, there are quite fundamental differences between that car and a Red Bull Racing car. And arguably, there are other cars on the grid which are far closer in concept than an AlphaTauri is. You’ve only got to look at an Aston Martin or even a McLaren. If you look around the rear suspension of a McLaren, it’s very close in concept to that of our own.”
Source: Read Full Article