Red Bull Racing Formula One driver Max Verstappen dodged a question about driving the Racing Bulls’ F1 car during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. Notably, both teams are owned by Red Bull, with Racing Bulls being the junior team meant for rookie drivers to undergo F1 experience before being shortlisted for a promotion to Red Bull. However, the common team ownership makes it a “politically sensitive” topic.
The subject of having two teams under a common ownership has been a controversial one, as one team could influence the race results in favor of the other. This concern has been raised by the McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown in the past.
As a result, F1’s governing body, the FIA, has taken the matter into its hands as it plans to declare clear boundaries between two teams operating under a common ownership for 2026. Former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies’ recent promotion to Red Bull as its new team boss raised several eyebrows, but it is important to note that the transition happened instantly.
That was possible since both teams belong to the same owner, and the move is thus seen as an internal restructuring. If the same were to happen between two F1 teams with different owners, Mekies would have had to serve gardening leave of many months before taking on the new role.
The topic of common team ownership came up during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, where Verstappen was asked if he ever felt like trying the Racing Bulls VCARB 02 F1 car. He stated:
“Well, let’s not talk about that.”
Motorsport.com reported from sources within Red Bull that Verstappen’s refusal to try the B-team’s car could be to avoid a potential controversy. The report stated:
“Other teams already focus on the A/B team dynamic, and the FIA intends to tighten the operational regulations (Section F) for 2026 to more clearly define such relationships. Having Verstappen in the sister team’s car might be entirely possible, but would likely raise some eyebrows in the paddock.”
Having Verstappen in the Racing Bulls car would prove highly beneficial, since his feedback could significantly enhance the car’s performance. In addition, he could also help tune it to be more similar to Red Bull’s challenger, so rookie drivers are not surprised after earning a promotion to the senior team.
However, for that to happen, the four-time world champion must be willing to try the experiment. Even if he does agree, it might be too late for Racing Bulls to have Verstappen in its car, especially since all teams are focusing on the development of the 2026 car, which will be different from the current ground effect challenger.
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