1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill has demonstrated his full support for McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who has called for the sport to “stand up for independence”.
Brown isn’t happy with how closely Red Bull work with sister team AlphaTauri, who they are also the owners of.
Red Bull are the only company on the F1 grid that own more than one team, something Brown believes impacts “the impartiality between competitors”.
The Milton Keynes-based company recently expressed their intention of working closer with their sister team, who are set to undergo an imminent rebranding.
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Even AlphaTauri has stressed that they will be working closer with Red Bull this year but in accordance with the current regulations.
Brown wants common ownership to be scrapped in the championship, as it can do “obvious potential damage” to the competition.
The McLaren CEO is standing up “for independence, competition and fairness”, with him calling for the regulations to be changed at the next Concorde Agreement to stop one team influencing the decisions made by another.
“As we look ahead to negotiating the next Concorde Agreement to unite the governing body with the teams and commercial rights holders, we should prioritise some of those rules that currently impact the impartiality between competitors,” Brown wrote, as reported by The Mirror.
“For example, most other major sports prohibit the ownership of two teams within the same league because of the obvious potential damage that it does to competition. It’s an unhealthy situation because it impacts decisions made both on and off the track. Whether it’s a case of having access to more data, sharing components/personnel, or even having influence over a strategic vote, it’s not in the spirit of the regulations.
“It’s important to stand up for independence, competition and fairness. I’d like to see changes in the regulations to ensure that in future, they stop influence spreading from one team to another through strategic alliances and especially through ownership. Formula 1 should be true to its brand, and every team – except power units – should be totally independent of each other.
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“I believe Formula 1 fans universally believe in fairness in competition and a level playing field, and would reject any actions that compromise the true spirit of competition within Formula 1. Part sharing of information, shared ownership models, and strategic alliances within the sporting fabric of Formula 1 will only serve to undermine the fans’ belief in fair and fierce competition.”
So far, Hill is the only person to vocally support Brown’s statement, with the Sky Sports F1 pundit taking to Instagram to demonstrate his support.
Hill wrote on Instagram that he “agrees 100 per cent” with Brown who thinks each team “should be totally independent”.