F1 News: Mercedes Disagrees With McLaren Over Poignant 2024 Subject

Contrary to McLaren's position, Mercedes technical director James Allison sees no significant cause for concern about the close alliance shared between Red Bull and its junior team AlphaTauri, citing that "the rules are very tight about not passing on anything that could be regarded as intellectual property".

Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, McLaren CEO Zak Brown raised significant concerns regarding the exchange of information and components between the two teams. AlphaTauri implemented various enhancements to the floor of its AT04 F1 car, including adopting the rear suspension from Red Bull RB19, which contributed to the car's improved performance in the midfield.

For the 2024 season, AlphaTauri plans to borrow Red Bull's front suspension. While McLaren raised an alarm on the possibility of one team using the other to its advantage, Allison has complete faith in the rules that keep a tab on such exchanges. 

When asked for his views on the close association between Red Bull and AlphaTauri, he told Motorsport.com:

“I’m not entirely sure what the nature of the relationships between those two teams is, but I am clear on what the rules are. 

“And it is that other than the very limited part of the car where you are permitted to supply parts, and therefore a certain amount of technical data alongside those parts, in every other respect the rules are very tight about not passing on anything that could be regarded as intellectual property from one team to another.

“The way that rule is written is very broad and very powerful, and it pretty much makes any communication not permitted.”

Technical Relationships Are Prohibited

Allison added that the tightened rules disallow two teams from having a technical relationship, except for a "commercial relationship". He added:

“If two teams have a strong relationship with each other, it can only really be a strong commercial relationship.

“It cannot be a strong technical or a strong sporting relationship because the rules forbid that.

“In the past it was more open, and the relationship that Mercedes enjoyed with the team that is now Aston Martin, at the time that was a relationship that permitted much greater freedom than it does today. In response to that relationship, the rules were tightened up substantially to mean that you cannot really have a technical or a sporting relationship.

“If it turns out that there is one, that is something that would cause unhappiness. So, there is not much mileage to seek a close relationship with another team from a technical point of view because it is not allowed.”