Zak Brown Files FIA Letter Demanding Ban on Shared Team Ownership in Formula 1

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown submitted a formal letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem calling for regulatory changes that would prohibit common ownership structures across multiple Formula 1 teams. The letter, filed this week, arrives 14 months before Audi's $645 million Sauber takeover completes and as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund continues paddock appearances at select race weekends.

Brown's proposal targets scenarios where a single entity—whether sovereign wealth fund, automotive conglomerate, or private equity vehicle—could control stakes in multiple constructors. Current FIA regulations permit shared ownership provided teams operate with separate technical and commercial leadership, a framework that has never been tested at scale in the sport's modern commercial era. Brown argues the loophole creates integrity risk in a championship where $1.1 billion in annual prize money is distributed based on constructor standings, and where team orders within a single outfit already generate sponsor and regulator scrutiny.

The timing matters for three constituencies. First, Audi's board, which spent 18 months negotiating technical and governance separation from Porsche's rumored evaluation of Red Bull's IP structure before abandoning talks in early 2023. Second, the Saudi PIF, whose governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been photographed in both the McLaren and Aston Martin hospitality suites across the last 9 race weekends—a frequency that suggests term-sheet conversations, not courtesy. Third, Liberty Media's commercial team, which is sizing a $20 billion enterprise valuation for F1 ahead of a potential 2025 partial exit and cannot afford governance ambiguity that spooks institutional allocators already wary of the sport's dual-headquarters complexity.

Brown's letter does not name parties but the subtext is legible. If the PIF or another sovereign vehicle acquires minority stakes in two teams—say 33% of McLaren and 25% of Aston Martin—the FIA's current rulebook provides no clear mechanism to audit whether aerodynamic data, driver telemetry, or sponsor pricing is being siloed correctly. The construct also complicates team valuations: a McLaren stake trades at a 40-50% premium to comparable asset classes when bidders believe they are buying sole access to F1's commercial upside. That premium evaporates if the same capital allocator is simultaneously funding a competitor's wind tunnel.

The governance gap is not hypothetical. Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri (now RB) have operated under shared ownership since 2006, a structure grandfathered under previous regulations but one that generates annual questions about driver development transfers and technical consultation boundaries. Brown's letter effectively asks the FIA to close the door before a third example emerges. His leverage is reputational: McLaren's commercial division is the only team entity that has scaled into a $450 million annual revenue base without a manufacturer parent, making Brown's voice difficult for the FIA to dismiss as protectionism.

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council meets in mid-January to finalize 2025 technical regulations. If Brown's proposal appears on that agenda, expect immediate lobbying from two factions: automotive manufacturers who want regulatory clarity before committing future budgets, and sovereign vehicles who view shared stakes as portfolio hedging. The outcome determines whether F1's ownership map fragments into 10 discrete silos or consolidates into a 5-6 entity structure that more closely resembles American stick-and-ball leagues.

McLaren's Andrea Stella, who replaced Brown in operational leadership last season, has not commented. Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack told reporters at Abu Dhabi that "ownership structure is Lawrence's domain," a deflection that suggests the Stroll family has already retained external counsel on the question. The Concorde Agreement, which governs commercial terms through 2030, is silent on cross-ownership beyond requiring each constructor to field cars under a single racing license.

The next signal arrives in 6-8 weeks, when the FIA publishes its January council minutes. If Brown's letter is acknowledged in that document, the governance debate moves from paddock gossip to official rulemaking. If it is not, McLaren has already planted a public marker that will complicate any future consolidation pitch by forcing the bidder to address the integrity question before term sheets circulate.