Daniel Ricciardo's final race highlighted a massive problem in Formula 1

In the closing stages of the 2024 Singapore GP on September 22, 2024, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo pitted and emerged on fresh tires to set the fastest lap of the race. While the move might seem fairly in line with the competitive spirit of a race, it highlighted a serious issue within Formula 1.

The issue was that Ricciardo, who was in 18th place and finished the event in the same position, was driving for Scuderia AlphaTauri – an F1 team also owned by Red Bull.

When Ricciardo set the fastest lap in the closing stages of the race, it denied McClaren's Lando Norris, the winner of the event, a chance to score an additional point, which could have been crucial for McLaren in their pursuit of Red Bull in the team standings.

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As Ricciardo finished outside the top 10, he also couldn't claim the point – rendering the move, at least on paper for him and AlphaTauri, literally pointless.

McLaren Racing, which is locked in a tight Constructors' Championship battle with Red Bull and their superstar driver Max Verstappen – who finished in second place in Singapore – was quick to question the timing and intent behind the move.

The result in Singapore, due to Riccardo's sudden involvement, means Norris is now 52 points behind Verstappen instead of 51, with six races left in the season. This means Norris no longer controls his own fate; if Verstappen finishes second in all remaining races, he will clinch his fourth world championship, according to Eurosport. 

As McClaren head Zak Brown told Sirius FM following the event: "That’s a nice A/B team sporting thing that I didn’t think was allowed… But hey, that’s not the first time we’ve seen it, probably won’t be the last," he said.

So was Ricciardo's fastest lap just a happy coincidence, or did it reveal the darker side of Red Bull's ability to field two teams?

Red Bull Racing's ownership of both their main team and AlphaTauri (previously Toro Rosso) allows them to operate a dual-team model that is unique to Formula 1.

This model would be inconceivable in other major sports like the NFL, NBA, or the Premier League, where strict ownership rules are enforced to prevent conflicts of interest. In F1, however, the practice remains legally permitted, even as it creates a competitive imbalance.

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While the two teams are required by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to operate independently, their shared ownership has led to regular debates over the potential conflicts of interest. Critics, such as McLaren's Zak Brown, argue that this structure allows Red Bull Racing to manipulate races by using AlphaTauri as a strategic pawn, as reported by Racing365.

This could be either by blocking competitors, influencing pit strategies, or, as in Ricciardo's case, taking away a crucial point from a competitor by winning a lap.

Since purchasing Minardi in 2005 and transforming it into Toro Rosso, Red Bull has maintained a feeder team to develop young drivers for their main operation. However, this dual-team setup also allows Red Bull the flexibility to influence races in ways that other teams cannot. In moments of strategic necessity, having two teams on the grid offers potential benefits beyond driver development​, as reported by GPfans.

What Ricciardo's fastest lap highlighted is the potential for AlphaTauri to assist Red Bull Racing in subtle but significant ways. Formula 1 allows shared ownership of teams, provided that both teams remain operationally independent, including in terms of manufacture and operations. But in practice, there are times – like in Singapore – where the interests of the two teams seem to align in ways that raise suspicions.

The FIA has yet to take action to prevent such situations, but the Riccardo situation has potentially given the McClaren boss some serious grounds to pressure the governing body into making some reforms.

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"I’ll certainly ask some questions. It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past and I think it illustrates that it does happen, because I think you wouldn’t have made that pitstop to go for that. It’s not going to get anyone a point, so I think it does illustrate the issue around that topic," Brown told Sirius Fm, as reported by Motorsport Week.

Previously, Brown has had much stronger words on the issues, telling ESPN in January 2024: "I believe it's a serious issue for the fairness of the sport, for the fans. That's why it's pretty much not allowed in any other form of major sport."

"I'd like to see us as an industry focus on that before it gets to a level of being where Formula One once was, which is very out of balance because people are playing by the rules but a different set of rules."

As far as Red Bull Racing head Christian Horner is concerned, there was and is no collusion between AlphaTauri and Red Bull in Singapore. It was simply a case of Ricciardo wanting to finish his F1 career on a high note, as he told media after the event, Fox News reported. But "you'll have to ask [AlphaTauri] about that".

But it's an issue Horner has been defending for years now, most recently in January stressing the differences between the two team's technical intellectual property, including in relation to their chassis and aerodynamic, but more importantly their identity.

"The two teams are totally separate. One is based in Italy. One is based in the UK, the one that is based in Italy has a far larger turnover of staff that end up in Maranello than end up in Milton Keynes. They have different personalities, they have different characters and they comply continually with the regulations."

While it's clearly something Horner hates talking about, it's an issue that's not going to go away – especially if we keep seeing questionable tactics like we did at the Singapore GP.

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