McLaren CEO Zak Brown has warned it would be “a mistake” to allow increasing ties and ownership links between Formula 1 teams.

Earlier this year it emerged that Mercedes is among the parties interested in buying a minority stake in Alpine’s F1 team. The Silver Arrows already supplies Alpine with engines as of this year and such a move would further strengthen ties between the two teams.

This is something that concerns Brown, who has long voiced his opposition to co-ownership and A/B team set-ups. He previously expressed concerns about the nature of the relationship between Red Bull and its sister team Racing Bulls.

Brown insisted his opinion on the matter “hasn’t changed at all” and believes the model is something F1 “need[s] to get away from as much as possible as quickly as possible”.

"In today's day and age if that's permitted, I think it runs a real high risk of compromising the integrity of sporting fairness," Brown told media including Crash.net on Wednesday.

"And what would turn fans off is if they don't feel like there's 11 independent racing teams. I've been vocal about it from day one. We've seen it play out on track in a sporting way, with Daniel Ricciardo taking the fastest lap point away from us to help the other team [at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix].

"We've seen IP violations on the Aston Martin/Racing Point brake ducts. We've seen employees move overnight, where we either have to wait and sometimes make financial deals, which then impacts us in the cost cap.

"So when you see other teams that move from one to the other and then also without financial compensation, that's an unfair financial advantage. That's an unfair sporting advantage.

"We've seen Ferrari and Haas move people back and forth, and we know with IP there's a lot in your head with that.”

Brown used a football analogy to underline his concerns, arguing: "can you imagine a Premier League game where you've got two teams owned by the same group - one's going to get relegated if they lose, and the other can afford to lose?

"That's what we run the risk of. So I think having engine power units as suppliers is as far as it should go and then in my view, all 11 teams should be absolutely as independent as possible because I think it has a high risk, and we have seen it, compromise the integrity of the sport."

Asked if his view also applied to Mercedes amid its interest in Alpine’s 24 per cent shareholding, Brown replied: ”It applies to anybody and everybody. So A/B teams, co-ownership, regardless of who it is, I frown upon it.

"I don't think it's healthy for the sport. But it's not personal or towards any one team or individual."