Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko

'FIA introduces new rules: Is this key Red Bull partnership at risk?'

17:01, 23 Jul

Updated: 17:40, 23 Jul

byCas van de Kleut

Since 2006, Red Bull Racing has had a sister team in Formula 1, now known as Racing Bulls. In 2024, Zak Brown expressed his displeasure at the fact that there could be two teams with the same owner. According to The Race, the FIA is planning changes for 2026, which will alter the rules surrounding ‘A and B teams’.

Prior to the 2024 season, Brown said that he was not in favor of Formula 1 teams having the same owner. According to the McLaren CEO, it was in the broad interest of the sport for this to change. He pointed to other major sports where it was not allowed to own two teams.

FIA takes action against A and B teams: Will Red Bull be affected?

The regulations concerning the engine, as well as the car, will change for 2026. Reportedly, an additional rule will be added to section F of the rulebook, concerning collaborations between teams. Thus, the rules would become stricter regarding the extent to which teams can form partnerships.

Speaking to The Race, Nikolas Tombazis, the director of the FIA's single-seater classes, said: "We are working on clarifying more how teams, let's call them A- and B-teams, operate in terms of putting in provisions that stops those that have some sort of close relationship from helping each other or collaborating."

Tombazis continued: "We are putting some provisions on the IT side, to make sure that IT systems are segregated, so they cannot share designs, or anything like that. And there will also be physical segregation and what details of what provisions need to be respected."

The director of racing in the single-seater classes also emphasized that the FIA wants to satisfy teams that do not have any collaboration agreement.

Tombazis notably underlined that the aim is not for teams with a collaboration agreement to gain an unfair advantage.