McLaren CEO Zak Brown sent a formal letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem calling for rule changes that would prohibit any team from holding ownership stakes in rival constructors, marking the most direct regulatory challenge yet to Formula 1's current ownership landscape. The timing, three weeks after McLaren secured $650 million from MSP Sports Capital at a $4.1 billion valuation, positions Brown to speak from capital strength rather than desperation.
The letter targets what Brown terms "commercial and competitive conflicts" arising when one constructor holds influence over another's operations. He did not name specific teams. He did not need to. Ferrari owns a minority stake in Haas through a technical partnership that includes power units, gearboxes, and rear suspension components. Red Bull Racing and RB—formerly AlphaTauri, formerly Toro Rosso—operate under the same holding company, sharing wind tunnel data within regulatory limits and serving as a development path for Red Bull's driver academy. Both arrangements predate the current Concorde Agreement but have drawn quiet complaints from midfield teams watching driver moves and technical information flow through these channels.
Brown's intervention arrives as Formula 1 negotiates the 2026 technical regulations, which introduce new power unit specifications and revised aerodynamic rules. The FIA publishes its governance framework for those regulations in June. Any ownership restrictions would require agreement from the commercial rights holder—Liberty Media—and at least seven of the ten teams. Ferrari has blocked similar proposals twice before, in 2019 and 2022, citing its historical role in the sport and the legitimacy of technical partnerships that keep smaller teams solvent. Haas has operated since 2016 largely because Ferrari supplies components at a discount to list price; Gene Haas, the team principal and owner, has said publicly he would consider exiting the sport if forced to build a gearbox in-house.
The economics explain the tension. A constructor finishing fourth in the championship—McLaren's 2025 result—earns approximately $140 million in prize money. A constructor finishing ninth earns $68 million. The difference funds roughly 180 additional engineering hours in computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel time, or one senior aerodynamicist's salary for three years. When two teams share data, even within regulations, the lower-funded team gains performance it did not independently develop. Sponsors notice. Aramco renewed with Aston Martin in March for $60 million annually after the team rose to second in 2024; Haas has struggled to replace Uralkali's $35 million after severing ties in 2022 and finished the 2025 season with empty sidepods.
Brown's letter also reflects McLaren's shifting leverage. The MSP Sports Capital investment in February valued McLaren Racing—separate from the automotive business—at roughly $3.8 billion, making it the second-most valuable constructor behind Ferrari at $6.4 billion. That capital allows McLaren to fund its own technical infrastructure and challenge arrangements that favor smaller, satellite-like operations. Brown has hired 47 engineers since January, including six from Red Bull's aerodynamics group, and is building a second wind tunnel in Woking scheduled for completion in September 2026. He does not need Ferrari's gearbox. He does not want competitors relying on it either.
The FIA's response will clarify whether it views multi-team ownership as a governance issue or a commercial matter best left to the Concorde Agreement. Ben Sulayem has shown willingness to impose structural changes—he forced teams to adopt standardized electronic control units in 2024 and threatened to strip McLaren of constructors' points over a rear wing controversy in Austin. But ownership restrictions require unanimous consent from Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes, all of whom benefit from current arrangements or fear setting a precedent that limits future investment structures. Liberty Media has remained silent.
Watch for FIA's June governance document. If ownership language appears, Ferrari will respond within a week. If it does not, Brown has already secured his outcome: forcing rival teams to defend their structures publicly before sponsors and prospective investors begin asking why their brands are attached to operations that do not fully control their own technical destiny. Disney's expansion into F1 Academy, announced Monday, shows entertainment capital flowing toward properties with clean competitive narratives. A team that builds its own gearbox tells a better story than one that borrows Ferrari's.
The next Concorde Agreement negotiation begins in January 2027. Brown is building his case early.
The takeaway
Brown's letter forces rivals to defend ownership structures publicly, reshaping competitive narrative ahead of 2026 regulations and 2027 Concorde talks.
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