McLaren’s boss, Zak Brown, recently raised concerns over the ownership structure that Red Bull has within the sport. The American team boss was unhappy about how the Milton-Keynes-based team gets to run two teams, and it could lead to an unfair “conflict of interest,” as per Sky Sports F1. With the reveal of the VCARB 01 today in Las Vegas, Brown’s concerns have found legitimacy as the car eerily resembles the RB18 and RB19.
VCARB is heavily influenced by Red Bull, both on and off track. The biggest similarity that can be spotted between this year’s V-CARB (Visa Cash App RB) car and Red Bull’s latest championship-winning car is the suspension. According to keen-eyed fans on social media, the VCARB 01 ditches last year’s pushrod suspension for an RB-19-esque pull rod. Moreover, the wishbone design also looks inspired by the Red Bull design extensively.
The @visacashapprb is much closer to the dominant RB19 than to its predecessor!
Pull-rod front suspension
✅Thinner rod (higher tensile vs compressive fibres strength)➡️Better airflow management, lighter
❌More setup timeInclined wishbone
Thin sidepods intake#F1 pic.twitter.com/ujvreMjBNP
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) February 9, 2024
The Red Bull sister team has apparently borrowed a lot of ideas and parts from their main team. The RB19 is the most successful car in this sport, with 21 out of 22 Grand Prix wins. Alarmingly, the VCARB 01 sports an awe-inducing replica of the side pod design from that car as well.
Brown’s concerns were first raised when it was reported that the team had shifted some major facilities to the Milton-Keynes campus. However, with the release of the new livery and car design, Brown would feel vindicated.
Has Red Bull exploited a loophole in the regulations?
Brown was very categorical when he spoke about his fears with respect to Red Bull and VCARB. “I think the A-B team is a real problem moving forward. I think co-ownership, you don’t really have that in any other sport, and I think that provides a lot of conflict of interest,” explained the 52-year-old.
The McLaren CEO was also concerned about how the sport’s integrity and fairness were being compromised due to this potential exploitation by the Red Bull. His major concern was that the two teams, who were rivals on paper, shared the same campus and obviously were privy to technology transfer.
The Race has even speculated that with the current sporting and technical regulations, the FIA would have a tough time actually deciphering if this Red Bull x VCARB alliance is against the rules.
