Brown Slams Red Bull Rumours, Demands FIA Crackdown

Zak Brown urges the FIA to stop baseless claims with fines, targeting Red Bull’s repeated digs at McLaren’s car legality.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has had enough of what he calls “baseless accusations” from Red Bull, and he’s calling on the FIA to take action. The American believes it’s time for Formula 1 to crack down on teams throwing around unfounded claims without evidence, and he’s suggesting a financial penalty to stop it.

This week, Brown took a not-so-subtle jab at Red Bull by appearing in the paddock with a bottle labeled “tire water”, a direct reference to a bizarre rumor Red Bull reignited from last season. According to Christian Horner, McLaren’s car allegedly cools its tires using something other than air, which he hinted might be outside the rules. A similar claim last year prompted a full investigation by Pirelli, which found nothing illegal on McLaren’s MCL38.

Brown says enough is enough. In his view, if a team wants to accuse another of wrongdoing, it should be forced to file a formal protest through the FIA, and pay for it. This, he believes, would stop the spread of distracting, unsubstantiated stories in the media.

“Teams have always pointed fingers at each other,” Brown admitted. “But one team has made that their strategy more than anyone else lately. There should be a proper way to raise an issue. You file it, explain where it came from, and you put money on the table.”

He wants this formal process extended beyond post-race protests to any technical accusation made during the season. “If you had to put your claims in writing and pay for them, I think we’d see an end to the frivolous accusations that hurt the spirit of the sport,” Brown said. “If someone genuinely believes there’s a technical issue, they have every right to raise it, but they should back it up with paperwork and cash.”

Under Brown’s proposed system, teams would need to pay a five-figure sum to trigger an official investigation. If their claims turn out to be baseless, the money would be deducted from their cost cap, making it a real strategic decision.

“We’re all operating right at the edge of the cost cap,” he explained. “No team will throw away 25,000 euros unless they really believe they’re onto something. Personally, I’d spend that money on improving my race car, not on games.”

Brown added that the protest fee doesn’t need to be extreme, but it should be high enough to make teams think twice. “It has to be meaningful,” he said. “Enough that it comes out of performance elsewhere. That way, only serious allegations get brought forward.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming technical directive on flexible wings, expected at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Brown remains confident. “We’re not worried at all. Every time someone’s made claims about our car recently, they’ve been wrong. If Red Bull wants to focus on us instead of their own performance, that works in our favor.”