The head of Racing Bulls responded to criticisms made by Zak Brown about the team’s relationship with Red Bull Racing in Formula 1. Alan Permane publicly defended the partnership between the two structures, after the McLaren CEO questioned the sporting integrity of the shared ownership model with the FIA.
Read more F1: Increases luxury brands’ interest in the category
Brown has been one of the biggest critics of the fact that Red Bull GmbH simultaneously controls Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. According to the McLaren executive, certain actions by the satellite team could have directly benefited the main team, raising doubts about sporting balance in the category.
Earlier this month, Brown sent a letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, highlighting recent episodes that, according to him, would compromise the competitiveness of Formula 1. The executive also drew attention to the movement of employees between the two teams, using as an example the immediate transfer of Laurent Mekies from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing after Christian Horner left the team principal position in the middle of last year.
Normally, professionals hired by rival teams need to serve a cooling-off period before starting the new job. Brown indicated that he would like to discuss the matter directly with Ben Sulayem to assess the impacts of this type of relationship within Formula 1.
Speaking to the press last weekend in Canada, Permane acknowledged that there are advantages to being part of the Red Bull structure but denied any sporting irregularity: “I certainly feel the benefit of being part of the Red Bull family and being under the Red Bull corporate projects group in Austria,” he said.
Read more F1: Cadillac would be considering replacing Bottas with Colton Herta
The executive explained that the relationship between Racing Bulls and Red Bull Racing operates within a model allowed by the category’s technical regulations: “Our relationship with Red Bull Racing is very much based on client and supplier. We take suspension from them, use gearboxes and several other components allowed by the technical regulations, which we follow very strictly,” he said.
Permane also compared his current experience with previous periods in his career when he worked in teams without any similar partnership. According to him, there is a great internal effort precisely to ensure that all rules are respected: “Having worked in a team without this type of relationship and now in another that has this link, I can say that a lot of work is done to ensure we respect the regulations,” he added.
The Racing Bulls executive also stated that part of the team’s resources ends up being used precisely to ensure compliance with FIA rules: “A lot of effort that could be directed to other areas is used to ensure we follow the regulations. Therefore, I see no problem with the way we currently operate,” he concluded.
Read more Pérez celebrates return to F1 and says: «I proved to myself that I am one of the best»
