McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has filed a formal letter to the FIA requesting elimination of common ownership across multiple Formula One teams, three people familiar with the filing confirmed. The timing follows the collapsed Andretti-Cadillac bid and arrives as General Motors negotiates directly with the commercial rights holder on a 2026 or 2028 entry.
Brown's letter does not cite a specific transaction. It does cite competitive integrity. The current regulatory framework allows a single entity to hold minority stakes in multiple teams, provided no operational control exists and no shared personnel cross team boundaries. Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri operated under that structure until the junior team rebranded as Visa Cash App RB last year. Toro Rosso, the prior name, ran for 15 seasons under Red Bull ownership with FIA approval. Brown's position is that minority cross-holdings create perception problems even when the firewalls hold.
The subtext is commercial. McLaren returned to consistent podium contention in 2023 and 2024 after a decade of reconstruction. The team's valuation is estimated near $1.8bn by three separate sports-finance sources, up from roughly $800mm in 2020 when MSP Sports Capital took a minority stake. Brown has spent two years positioning McLaren as the premium challenger brand: Netflix-ready, sponsor-friendly, American-coded without being American-owned. Any erosion in the sport's exclusivity damages that pitch. New teams dilute the constructor prize pool. Cross-ownership dilutes brand clarity.
What Brown does not mention in the letter, but three paddock sources note, is the Williams situation. Dorilton Capital bought the team in 2020 for approximately $200mm. The team has underperformed. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has held exploratory conversations about a minority investment, according to two people briefed on the discussions. PIF already funds Aston Martin's title sponsorship through Aramco. If PIF takes a stake in Williams while maintaining the Aramco deal, the optics resemble exactly what Brown is describing. The FIA would likely approve it under current rules. Brown wants the rules rewritten before the check clears.
The FIA's response will reveal whether Brown is alone. If other team principals co-sign or echo the letter in the F1 Commission, the governing body will face pressure to tighten ownership restrictions before the next Concorde Agreement negotiations in 2025. If Brown is isolated, the letter becomes noise. The FIA does not comment on pending regulatory matters, a spokesman said.
Liberty Media has already demonstrated it will bypass the FIA when convenient. The Andretti rejection was a commercial decision, not a sporting one. Liberty controls the grid, the calendar, and the revenue splits. The FIA controls the rulebook and the superlicense process. Brown's letter is addressed to the FIA, but the audience is Liberty. He is staking a position before the 2026 engine regulations bring General Motors, potentially Audi's full works entry, and possibly a Saudi-backed constructor into the conversation.
McLaren finished P4 in the 2023 Constructors' Championship and holds P3 through four rounds in 2024. The team's commercial revenue rose 22% year-over-year in the most recent disclosure. Brown's letter is filed from a position of strength, not desperation. That makes it harder to ignore.
Watch for FIA World Motor Sport Council commentary when it meets in June. Watch for whether Ferrari, Mercedes, or Red Bull principals reference the letter in pre-race availability at Imola in late May. Watch for PIF's next move on Williams, expected before the summer break.
The takeaway
McLaren's Brown files FIA ownership letter as Saudi money circles Williams and GM negotiates grid entry, forcing governance question Liberty hoped to delay.
formula oneownershipmclarenfia governancepifandretti
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