McLaren CEO Zak Brown filed a letter with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem calling for rule changes that would prohibit any single entity from holding equity stakes in multiple Formula 1 teams. The letter lands as Mercedes explores minority ownership discussions and Red Bull operates its established two-team structure with RB.
The timing is operational. Brown wrote after Mercedes Motorsport head Toto Wolff publicly confirmed the team is evaluating minority stake sales to strategic partners, a process that could theoretically extend to configurations involving other teams. Red Bull already runs a de facto academy operation through RB (formerly AlphaTauri, formerly Toro Rosso), sharing infrastructure, IP, and driver development pipelines while maintaining separate constructor entries. Brown's letter does not name teams but references "any future common ownership structures" that could undermine competitive balance.
The governance implications are structural. Formula 1's Concorde Agreement, which expires after 2025, does not explicitly prohibit cross-team ownership below majority control thresholds. The FIA's International Sporting Code similarly lacks clarity on minority equity arrangements that stop short of outright consolidation. Brown's letter appears designed to close that gap before the next commercial cycle begins in 2026, when new power unit regulations reset technical hierarchies and several teams—including Audi's Sauber takeover—will field new manufacturer partnerships. If the FIA amends ownership rules now, any Mercedes minority sale process would face immediate constraints. If it waits, precedent solidifies.
The second-order effects touch team valuations and sponsor leverage. Multi-team ownership structures create economies of scale in wind tunnel time, CFD capacity, and supplier negotiations. Red Bull's RB arrangement has produced four world championship drivers (Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Sainz) who spent time in the junior team before graduating or moving elsewhere, a pipeline no single-team operation can replicate at the same cost base. For McLaren, which operates without a manufacturer parent and relies on sponsorship revenue growth (the team added $100M+ in new partnerships in 2023-24), any rival's ability to amortize costs across two entries compresses margin. Brown's letter is not ideological; it is arithmetic.
Sponsor CMOs are watching deal structures. If the FIA permits minority cross-ownership, brands could theoretically negotiate activation rights across multiple teams under one holding company, reducing per-team exclusivity value. Family offices sizing stakes in the $1B-$3B valuations currently circulating for midfield teams need clarity on whether their investment competes against one entity or two under shared control. Audi's $600M Sauber acquisition assumed a single-team commitment; retroactive rule changes that allow competitors to double their footprint would alter return assumptions.
The immediate trigger is Mercedes' sale timeline. Wolff has said minority stake discussions are active, with a decision expected before the 2025 season opener in Australia. Brown's letter forces the FIA to either formalize a ban in time to block those talks or publicly decline, creating precedent. Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has already stated the RB relationship complies with all regulations, a position that becomes harder to sustain if new rules pass retroactively. The FIA has not commented on receipt of the letter or internal review timelines.
What follows is a coordination problem. The ten team principals meet next in Bahrain pre-season testing in late February, where ownership structure will share agenda space with 2026 power unit homologation deadlines and Las Vegas GP financial settlement talks. If Brown's letter gains support from Ferrari, Aston Martin, or Alpine—teams also operating without multi-team networks—the FIA faces pressure to act before the Concorde Agreement renewal window closes. If it does not, McLaren's leverage shifts to threatening non-renewal unless ownership provisions tighten, a nuclear option that would destabilize the $3B annual prize fund distribution.
Brown's letter does not reference Alpine's ongoing management turbulence or Williams' 2023 Dorilton Capital-backed infrastructure spend, but both cases illustrate fragility in single-team models. Alpine fired its team principal mid-season and has churned through three technical directors since 2022; Williams required private equity recapitalization to avoid sale. Multi-team structures insulate against that volatility. Brown is arguing for competitive aesthetics; the counterargument is survival economics.
The FIA's next public statement on governance is expected at the World Motor Sport Council meeting in late March. By then, Mercedes will have either closed a minority sale or postponed. Brown's letter is dated; the question is whether the rulebook moves faster than the cap table.
The takeaway
Brown's FIA letter forces a pre-2026 decision on multi-team ownership before Mercedes completes stake talks and Concorde renewal negotiations begin.
fia governanceteam ownershipmclarenzak brownconcorde agreementred bull
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