Porsche and Red Bull cancel collaboration talks about Formula 1
Porsche has halted talks to partner with the Red Bull Formula 1 team, forcing the sports car brand to seek new routes to the global racing series.
The failure of talks with Red Bull, which has dominated F1 this season, is a blow to the Volkswagen brand ahead of its planned IPO this year.
Red Bull and Porsche have not agreed on the structure of the proposed partnership, according to people briefed about the talks. A person familiar with the discussions said Porsche wanted to buy 50 percent of the race team and 50 percent of Powertrains, Red Bull’s new engine manufacturer.
However, Red Bull’s investors were unwilling to sell a stake in the race team. A person close to Red Bull said it was a shareholder decision – “they felt it was not the best investment for the F1 team at this stage.”
Porsche said the racing series remained “an attractive environment” that it would continue to follow.
“The premise has always been that a partnership would be based on an equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership, but also the team,” said Porsche. “This could not be achieved.”
There are still opportunities for Porsche to enter the sport, with interest from other teams, but the failure to reach a deal with Red Bull highlights the difficulty of entering a competition with only 10 teams.
Porsche and the other VW-owned carmaker Audi aim to enter the sport in 2026, when teams will race with new engines.
New drive unit regulations will introduce next-generation engines powered by a mixture of batteries and biofuels.
Audi has already confirmed it will join F1 as an engine supplier that year, but has yet to confirm its partner.
F1’s revival under Liberty Media, the group controlled by billionaire John Malone, is attracting younger fans and the attention of automakers.
Since acquiring F1 in an $8 billion deal in 2017, the US group has put in place a budget cap to cut costs for teams, negotiated a more even distribution of revenue and sought to increase the sport’s appeal through social media. to embrace the media. The popularity of Drive to Survive, a behind-the-scenes documentary series on Netflix, has also sparked interest, with attendances rising due to strong demand for race weekend tickets.
Most F1 teams run on Ferrari and Mercedes engines, although Renault’s Alpine runs on its own. Red Bull has launched a Powertrains division to build its own engine to end its reliance on competing manufacturers. Red Bull uses Honda engines, although the Japanese provider announced its departure from the sport in 2020.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has emphasized the importance of the team’s independence.
Red Bull, based in Milton Keynes, leads the F1 standings this season, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen propels the team to the top of the constructors’ championship.
