Zak Brown Raises Red Bull 'B-Team' Concerns Again After Singapore GP Move

Saajan Jogia | Sep 23, 2024

Nov 18, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris of Great Britain (4) drives during the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has announced his intention to raise questions about the role of Red Bull's B-team, VCARB, following Daniel Ricciardo's decision to switch to soft tires in the penultimate lap of the Singapore GP. This move allowed Ricciardo to secure the fastest lap, denying Lando Norris a crucial additional point.

In what is believed to be his final race, Ricciardo was instructed to pit from 18th place with just three laps remaining to switch to soft tires, despite having no chance of earning a bonus point himself. However, by posting a faster lap time than Norris, Ricciardo effectively denied the McLaren driver a valuable point.

Norris's missed point could have major consequences as he narrows the gap to championship leader Max Verstappen. This situation now allows Verstappen the opportunity to clinch the title by finishing second to Norris in all upcoming races, a scenario that wasn’t previously feasible.

While Ricciardo's fastest lap stunt could be his way of bidding the team goodbye, considering his potential exit following his emotional interviews, Brown, who has previously advocated for F1 to restrict ownership across multiple teams, found Ricciardo's attempt to secure the fastest lap suspicious. Speaking to SiriusXM, as reported by Racefans.net, he said:

“That’s a nice A/B-team sporting thing that I didn’t think was allowed.

“But that’s not the first time we’ve seen it, probably won’t be the last.”

Adding that he would “certainly ask some questions," he said:

“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.”

Zak Brown says he will ask questions about this as he feels teams should operate independently on a sporting level, and that this was as an A and a B team.

Adds it’s an example of why he was worried about the joint ownership situation #F1 #SingaporeGP https://t.co/kBRFSCfqxN

— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) September 22, 2024

However, VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies has addressed the suspicion, stating that the decision to let Ricciardo finish his weekend on a high note was made spontaneously, especially in light of rumors about his potential exit from the sport. He explained to Motorsport.com:

"You have to give credit to the guy. Daniel had a crazy weekend to go through.

“I don't think I saw him once in any moment of the race weekend losing one ounce of professionalism in or out of the car. Even though the pressure was becoming higher and higher and higher.

“The guy does all the [Singapore] race at the back, fighting every lap, putting some good laps in, and is unable to pass.

“We just thought it was the right thing to do - to give him that chance in the context in which the weekend had been.

“It's as simple as giving the guy a chance in what has been a crazy weekend.

“It's like: give him a break, give him a chance to post a good lap and finish this weekend on a high.”