The recent news of moving part of AlphaTauri staff to Milton Keynes it made quite a few teams stand up. The concerns concern the alleged illegality of the intentions of the world champion team and its satellite team. Does Red Bull want to exploit regulatory loopholes to take advantage of the relationship with AlphaTauri or is it all a flash in the pan? This new direction of the axis Red Bull-Alpha Tauri it could turn into a scandal, let's see why.
Meanwhile in England
The latest from England has caused quite a stir. Some of the AlphaTauri staff based in Bicester have moved to a new facility in Milton Keynes: headquarters of Red Bull. Furthermore, the rumors speak of a future transfer of additional AlphaTauri technicians from the Faenza headquarters at the same factory. The headquarters in question will host all the activities relating to the design of the single-seater. It is clear, therefore, that a rapprochement is taking place between the two teams.
It is obvious that we are not talking about a merger, but about one a situation that will lead the two teams to make cooperative relations easier live – in particular what concerns the component exchanges – granted by the regulation. The sensation also arises from the indiscretion according to which AlphaTauri will field one Red Bull "clone" single-seater of coming season. It is clear that in this case there would be a situation in which the rules on intellectual property would be called into question.
A reversal of trend
Over the last few seasons, AlphaTauri's attempt to emancipate itself has seemed clear and Red Bull to make its appendix increasingly independent. The reason probably lies in the intention to sell the team to the highest bidder. However, the situation appears to have reversed. Now Red Bull intends to close the Faenza house to itself, and this is precisely what the teams F1 they worry. AlphaTauri will benefit from a greater number of components supplied by the parent company, as well as the sharing of the wind tunnel with the latter. Anyone is able to understand the extent of the advantages that can be obtained from this in an era in which every test, simulation and expense must be subject to precise limitations.
Two prominent figures from the paddock spoke out on the issue: Zak Brown – McLaren team principal – e James allison - Mercedes technical director -. The first, always active in issues concerning justice on the grid, raised an alarm to the FIA. It will be interesting to see how the federation, increasingly in difficulty after numerous resignations, will manage everything. Allison, however, confidently underlined the rigidity of the regulation regarding intellectual property.
Cunning and illegality: where is the border?
Upon closer inspection, the rapprochement between the two teams could be attributable to the limitations due to the budget cap. Why everyone go their own way when you can exploit synergies in order to contain costs and simultaneously gain in performance? This is just a hypothesis, but it would not be absurd to think that it could turn out to be true. After all, it's exactly what the other teams fear.
Although the legislator's intentions to avoid questions of dubious regularity such as this exist, it is obvious that minor interventions may be necessary in the short term as the only alternative. The reason lies in the fact that the next Concorde pact - in which the technical independence of each team will be a topic - will be discussed around 2030. The two teams are not breaking written rules, but if they exploit gray areas of the regulation to the detriment of others they should be sanctioned. The motivation lies in the principle that the FIA has applied several times: if there is a rule and it is violated indirectly with legitimate mechanisms, the way to circumvent it will also be prohibited.
SOURCE: Motorsport.com Italy
