Red Bull F1 Team Principal Christian Horner says the potential partnership with Porsche will only take off if it meets their demands.
Ahead of the 2022 Dutch GP, Audi announced their entry in F1 as an engine supplier from the 2026 season onwards. And with that, people expected Red Bull to announce their partnership with Porsche.
German Automaker Porsche is known for its supercars. And just like its sister team Audi’s plans, it had intentions of joining the F1 grid by acquiring or merging with Red Bull.
Porsche was earlier touted as an engine supplier from 2026, like Audi. But the $22.17 Billion automaker had plans to buy a 50% stake in Red Bull Technology, which could easily cost around $250 million.
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz had approved the deal to go ahead. But Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey rejected the idea causing the deal to fall through.
Horner, Marko and Newey oppose the current deal and wish Red Bull remains a racing team on the F1 grid. The trio stated that this would cause a major mess in the corporate structure, and they would lose control of the racing team.
Red Bull has always been an independent team,” Horner said. “It’s been one of our strengths. It’s been the backbone of our achievements and our ability to move quickly. It’s part of the DNA of who we are.”
He added, “We’re not a corporately operated organisation, and that is one of our strengths in how we operate as a race team. That is an absolute prerequisite for the future.”
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Christian Horner underlines Red Bull demands
Red Bull is still open to Porsche’s offer. But just like Christian Horner said, the deal should meet the demands of the Austrian team.
Porsche and Red Bull need to work on the details shareholding transfer and how their racing project progresses. This would dictate whether Red Bull or Porsche controls the racing operations.
Like Christian Horner clarified, “They need to decide whether they want to join that party or not. It would have to be, as I say, within that culture of the way that we go racing”
Also, the matter of who controls power unit production will be of major focus. Porsche wishes to enter F1 as an engine supplier and would prefer to use their own.
But recently, Red Bull has demonstrated that they can make race-winning Power units. And having only recently acquired the production from Honda, Red Bull intends to keep working on its 2026 power unit for now.
If the deal with Porsche does not go through, Christian Horner believes he is open to the partnership with other teams. He said, “I think any relationship with any manufacturer or partners would have to fit with Red Bull.”
It’s clearly visible that Red Bull’s vision is not aligned with Porsche’s. And with every passing day, the deal seems less likely to be finalised.
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