Intro: Günther Steiner urges the FIA to ban dual team ownership in F1, citing suspicions of collusion after Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap in Singapore raised questions about Red Bull’s influence across two teams.
Günther Steiner believes the FIA should address the fact that Red Bull owns two teams. According to the former Haas F1 team principal, Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap in Singapore inevitably raises suspicion of collusion between Red Bull and RB F1.
“That fastest lap was a bit strange when it happened,” Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast. “I think the issue is that in a sport like Formula 1, no owner should have two teams.”
“You can never shake off the suspicion that there are team orders, not within a single team, but between teams. I think we have to respect what Red Bull did at the time, because I was involved when they bought Minardi, Mateschitz.”
“F1 was struggling. Minardi was struggling. They would have been gone without a savior. So, F1 has evolved a lot since then, and for the future, we might need to find a solution where no one can own two teams.”
“But I don’t think we need to be radical and say this must be addressed in the next Concorde Agreements. What Red Bull has contributed to F1 to make it what it is today is absolutely incredible, so ultimately, you can’t tell them what to do with their teams.”
“But in the future, it will need to be looked at. How can we avoid this? If RB F1 weren’t owned by the same entity as Red Bull, no one would have had any suspicions. Everyone would have said it was Daniel Ricciardo’s last hurrah.”
Steiner explains why he believes the problem lies in the common ownership of the two teams: “If, for example, Sauber had set the fastest lap, would anyone have been concerned? No. The issue is that they are owned by the same people. Zak Brown from McLaren is pushing hard on this topic.”
“But I don’t think they can resolve this for the next Concorde Agreements, which start in 2026. However, for the ones after that, the FIA should find an agreement with Red Bull by 2031. But work needs to begin now, not just a year before signing the new agreement. Discussions should start right away.”
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Steiner hopes the FIA will ban owning two teams in F1 Steiner hopes the FIA will ban owning two teams in F1
