‘We would be stupid to do it’ – Red Bull dismiss inter-team F1 tactics with Racing Bulls

Red Bull team principal Lauren Mekies has been forced to dismiss comments from Toto Wolff that tactics are being used between the two Red Bull-owned teams to create a sporting advantage, something which is against the regulations.

The topic of multi-team ownership or involvement is one that refuses to go away, with Red Bull and Racing Bulls by far the closest linked teams on the grid.

Amid Mercedes' previous interest in acquiring a stake in the Alpine team, an outfit which now runs with power units from the German manufacturer, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has continued his mission to end multi-team involvement, with the sport now in a far stronger place than it was when FOM and the FIA pressured Red Bull to step in to save the failing Minardi team.

A longstanding concern about the practice is that teams could work hand in hand to manipulate the on-track action, with both Brown and Wolff highlighting the ease at which Max Verstappen was able to slip past Liam Lawson in Miami, and the rapid speed at which Mekies was able to jump from Racing Bulls to Red Bull, compared to other personnel moves.

“Look, we are supporting 11 teams racing independently on track, and it's a matter of regulations in order to ensure that 11 teams race independently on the track," said Mekies. 

"It doesn't matter if they are co-owned or if they have the same PU or if they have the same gearbox or the same suspensions; we need to all race independently."

"To your point, there is an extremely precise and detailed regulations about transfer of personnel and the minimum time of gardening leave between a team and another team. Not only do we respect, obviously, the FIA regulations, but also we self-impose on ourselves higher time to make sure that we won't fall in these sorts of discussions. It is obviously not enough, hence we are supporting it. So I think it's a lot of gaming, gaming situations."

Addressing the ease of passing between the two teams, Mekies added: “As for the overtaking, I would like you guys to have a look, as we said this I think already a couple of races ago; have a look at all the interactions on tracks between Racing Bulls and Oracle Red Bull Racing. 

"Since the beginning of the year, you will have many, many samples because unfortunately our car was not very competitive at the beginning of the year, so you will have many, many samples. Our analysis is telling us that it's the most difficult track, the most difficult midfield car for us to get through. It's probably a family thing, you know.

“So, certainly, we will be more than silly, knowing all the attention in the world that there is on this topic, to be thinking to have a treatment that would not be compatible with the sporting regulations.”