Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale
Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 5:31 p.m.
Mercedes and Red Bull have targeted each other to put pressure on the affiliate teams following McLaren’s open letter about the state of Formula 1.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently raised a number of issues in sports with the issue of secret ballots during team voting, just a suggestion from the American.
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The idea that teams could be tricked into voting against their interests was brought up, but Red Bull team principal Christian Horner dismissed his guilt and instead pointed to the affiliations between engine supplier teams.
When asked for his thoughts on the content of the open letter, Horner replied: “I’ve heard of it and can only assume that it was due to pressure from a supplier, which in this case is a shame.
“McLaren is one of the most historic teams in Formula 1, they always had a big voice.
“When I got into Formula One, Ron Dennis was extremely passionate about everything and had something to say about anything related to the sport.
“It would be a shame to be behind a secret ballot, but the team has the right to ask. If that’s what it takes for an independent vote, then we don’t have much of a problem with it.”
Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff struck back and suggested AlphaTauri and Haas follow the demands of Red Bull and Ferrari.
“I didn’t know that Zak could write as presidential as he could,” joked Wolff at first.
Then he added, “Overall, it was a good letter. I think it addressed all the important points. I think it’s very positive that McLaren and Zak have given their views on controversial issues.
“I think we need more openness, like Zak did with this letter. Overall, I think it’s very good.
“As for the secret ballot, we’ve seen Toto Rosso in the past [now AlphaTauri] all voted with Red Bull and Haas went the Ferrari way.
“In our case we never tried to influence a team … obviously things were discussed when it was a general topic, like with the engine.
“It is clear that the teams will work together and none of the teams would vote against their own interests regarding the chassis regulations.
“The idea of the secret ballot is a good one. I doubt Franz [Tost, AlphaTauri team principal] will not take any instructions and neither will Günther [Steiner, Haas team principal].
“But the intent is obviously good. No team should be influenced by a partner or supplier.”
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