Zak Brown has been open about his concerns over the connection between Red Bull and Racing Bulls, both of which fall under the ownership of the same parent company. The Red Bull driver pipeline often sees graduates start out with Racing Bulls before making a case for promotion to the main team.
Zak Brown has been open about his concerns over the connection between Red Bull and Racing Bulls, both of which fall under the ownership of the same parent company.
The Red Bull driver pipeline often sees graduates start out with Racing Bulls before making a case for promotion to the main team. The link between the two sides became even clearer last year when Laurent Mekies moved from Faenza to step in as Christian Horner’s replacement.
While Red Bull and Racing Bulls once ran different engines, both teams were powered by Honda from 2019 through 2025. More recently, Racing Bulls have become the first team to use engines supplied by Red Bull Powertrains.
This isn’t the first time McLaren’s CEO has spoken out about his frustrations with how Formula One is run. Over the years, he’s raised issues on topics ranging from racing regulations to sponsorship deals.
The dynamic between Red Bull and Racing Bulls is just one of several areas he believes undermine how things are done at F1.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls have exchanged a lot of staff members
Red Bull and Racing Bulls are supposed to operate independently, according to FIA rules. But the way things are shaping up behind the scenes, there’s more overlap than you might expect.
As reported by Motorsport Italy, staff from both teams have been switching places in the build-up to the 2026 season. It’s said that 40 people have already moved between the organisations.
While some of those moves involve marketing roles, which probably won’t raise many eyebrows across the paddock, there have also been engineering personnel involved — and that’s where questions about sporting impact start to arise.
The FIA has so far found Red Bull and Racing Bulls to be following regulations, and there’s currently nothing in the rules specifically prohibiting large-scale staff movements. If concerns persist, Brown might push for changes to address this kind of situation going forward.
Red Bull turned down a massive bid for Racing Bulls
Having another team to draw from gives Red Bull a clear advantage over the rest of the grid.
They reportedly turned down an offer worth £1.7bn for Racing Bulls last year, which says a lot about how valuable they see that connection.
The company bought Minardi in 2005 for just £26m, a deal that looks even smarter in hindsight given how things have played out.
Ferrari had a chance to buy Minardi back then but passed. Instead, they’ve built up their own network through technical partnerships with Haas and are set to supply engines to Cadillac when they join F1 in 2026.
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Category: General Sports
