Laurent Mekies slams McLaren’s de for FIA interventions on Red Bull’s ‘UNFARE’ relationship with VCARB

Zak Brown has been the most vocal critic of Reb Bull sister team system.

Laurent Mekies slams McLaren’s de for FIA interventions on Red Bull’s ‘UNFARE’ relationship with VCARB

Laurent Mekies and Zak Brown (Via IMAGO)

VCARB Team Principal Laurent Mekies has defended the team’s ties to the Red Bull F1 team. Many F1 teams have been raising concerns over the Red Bull teams in the cost-cap era. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is the most vocal critic and he has called for FIA intervention twice recently over the technical partnership, which he deems unfair to its rivals.

Ahead of the 2024 season VCARB shifted its headquarters to a facility on the Red Bull technology campus in Milton Keynes worrying other F1 teams more. At the F1 Commission meeting, team principals expressed their concerns about the two teams sharing a wind tunnel facility. Brown even suggested that the FIA ban this antiquated ownership structure.

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According to Brown, the sport is always changing and that’s why the budget cap was implemented. Its main goal is to level the playing field for players both financially and in other ways. From a sporting, political, or technical standpoint, he believes the sport has evolved to the point where they are attempting to have ten independent teams, as no other major sport permits co-ownership of teams that play against one another.

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Now newly appointed RB team principal Laurent Mekies has insisted that they understand the importance of rules and guidance in sports and are following them. The ex-Ferrari man argued that the current Red Bull model is more sustainable and if it is to be changed a better model has to be proposed. 

The second reason why the regulations were sought in this way is to offer whoever wants to take it a more sustainable business model. Yes, we are in a very good [place] commercially and the investment in Formula 1 is fantastic, however, there's a simple reality that most of the team's shareholders are putting money into it. Before removing what is a more sustainable business model, we need to have a long-term view on what is is going to do for the sport over the next few years.
Mekies said, as reported by RN360.

VCARB gains a new partnership 

After failing to meet its goals, AlphaTauri changed its name to Visa Cash App RB in 2024. The Italian group teamed up with Cash App and Visa. The sponsor of the Visa Cash App RB F1 team is Alrajhi Bank, a Saudi Arabian bank with a $96.81 billion market capitalization. Among the biggest banks in the Middle East and the globe is Alrajhi Bank.

F1 is attracting interest from Saudi Arabian businesses and the government; the public investment fund is thinking about including it in its holdings. The nation is looking into alternative options to strengthen its partnership with F1, which costs $53 million a year, after several failed attempts.

It is believed that Saudi Arabia is the third-largest contributor to Formula One, after Azerbaijan and Qatar. In the F1 world, Saudi Arabia nevertheless finds itself embroiled in controversy. VCARB is already surrounded by trouble over their close relationship with their sister team, Red Bull, now fans are hoping that with this ongoing controversy, they won’t land themselves in another trouble ahead of the upcoming season. 

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