Zak Brown reignites Red Bull argument and demands talks over controversial move
Zak Brown has reignited an old war of words after a controversial moment at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Zak Brown has reignited the debate over Red Bull’s ownership of the VCARB team after Daniel Ricciardo pitted to steal the fastest lap away from Lando Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.
Norris was braced to take eight points out of title rival Max Verstappen’s championship lead, but that tally was reduced to seven when Ricciardo pitted from way down the order in the closing stages. His successful fastest lap attempt was of major benefit to his former Red Bull team-mate.
There was, in this case, some external context to Ricciardo’s decision to pit late on. The 35-year-old is expected to depart VCARB and the F1 grid in the aftermath of Sunday’s race and was keen to go out in style with the fastest lap after watching his hopes of a top-10 finish crumble.
Related articles
Despite that logic, McLaren Racing CEO Brown was unimpressed and reignited a debate from earlier in the year in his post-race interviews. The American has been a staunch opponent of VCARB’s ownership situation and reiterated his frustrations on Sunday.
Speaking to Sirius XM about the matter, Brown said: That’s a nice A/B team sporting thing that I didn’t think was allowed… But hey, that’s not the first time we’ve seen it, probably won’t be the last.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
“I’ll certainly ask some questions. It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past and I think it illustrates that it does happen because I think you wouldn’t have made that pit stop to go for that. It’s not going to get anyone a point, so I think it does illustrate the issue around that topic.”
These concerns were not shared by team principal Christian Horner, who brushed off any accusations of deliberate collaboration between the two Red Bull-owned organisations. “Racing Bulls stopped and did the fastest lap at the end of the race,” he stated.
More F1...
Lewis Hamilton treated by doctors after Singapore GP for 'borderline heatstroke' [UPDATE]
Max Verstappen threatens to quit F1 as Dutchman angry about 'silly' FIA row [DRAMA]
Daniel Ricciardo fights back tears after Singapore GP in hint F1 career is over [LATEST]
“There’s nothing more to it than that. Kevin Magnussen would have had it had he not gone wide earlier in the race and he has a Ferrari engine. Every team has its own independence.” The Red Bull chief did, however, admit that he could understand Brown’s frustrations.
“Sure, sure,” he continued. “It’s always going to get raised because it’s the same ownership, so it’s inevitable that question’s going to get raised,” he said. “But Daniel’s lap in a grand prix car… He wanted to… Remember, he gets paid a bonus on a fastest lap.”
