McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown sent a letter to the FIA this week calling for explicit regulatory language barring common ownership across multiple Formula 1 teams, a move that converts his public skepticism from 2024 into a formal request for governance action.
Brown's letter, confirmed Wednesday, does not name specific transactions but arrives as private equity continues circling the paddock and several billionaire families already hold minority stakes in more than one constructor. The ask is straightforward: close the door before capital structure creates conflict. McLaren wants language stating that no person, entity, or control group may hold material equity in more than one team, regardless of disclosure or compliance theater. The FIA has not yet responded publicly.
The timing carries weight. Formula 1 franchise values now exceed $2 billion for top teams, and institutional allocators—who prefer portfolio diversification—are sizing multiple entries. Liberty Media's $200 million anti-dilution fee for new entrants has effectively frozen the grid at ten teams, which makes cross-holdings more attractive to capital seeking F1 exposure without building from scratch. Brown's concern is structural: if the same boardroom controls two garages, the incentive to maximize Constructor's Championship points dissolves. Team orders become capital allocation. Pit strategy becomes portfolio management.
McLaren is not alone in the worry, but it is the only team publicly formalizing it in writing to the governing body. Red Bull Racing has noted the issue in media appearances. Mercedes principals have said the right things in press conferences. Brown is the one putting his name on letterhead and asking for rule text. His position benefits from McLaren's clean cap table—the team is wholly owned by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, with no cross-contamination—which lets him advocate without exposing hypocrisy.
The practical risk is less about overt collusion and more about marginal decisions that compound. If Team A and Team B share an ultimate beneficial owner, does Team B's driver move over in turn seven when it costs him a position but helps the sister squad lock P3 in the championship? Does Team A's aerodynamicist take a call from Team B's technical director, even if both signed NDAs? The stewards cannot referee intent. Brown's letter implicitly argues that the only enforceable standard is structural separation.
The FIA's incentive to act is unclear. The governing body collects fees from ten teams and has no financial interest in limiting ownership fluidity. Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1's commercial rights, has said nothing about ownership overlap, and its silence is its own signal. The company benefits from rising valuations and liquidity in team stakes; restricting buyers narrows the market. Brown is asking for a rule that may hurt his own exit optionality if Bahrain ever seeks a partial sale.
What matters now is whether other teams join McLaren in writing or stay quiet and let Brown absorb the political cost. Ferrari has historically defended team independence but has not moved. Haas, a smaller operation that could theoretically become a junior partner to a larger buyer, has reasons to oppose the ban. The FIA's next technical and sporting working group meeting is scheduled for mid-May, and ownership structures are not currently on the published agenda.
Brown's letter is the governance equivalent of a preemptive protest. He is not alleging wrongdoing; he is closing a door before someone walks through it. Whether the FIA installs the lock depends on how many other teams reach for the same handle.
The takeaway
McLaren formalizes anti-crossholding stance in FIA letter as PE interest and concentrated capital test F1's structural firewall.
mclarenfiaownershipgovernancezak brownformula 1
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