Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claims that the team’s owners are open to selling their sister team V-CARB (Visa Cash App RB). Marko makes these comments just months after Red Bull rebranded the Faenza-based outfit, renaming them as V-CARB. With there being a huge amount of interest in the market to buy one of the current F1 teams, Marko believes that Red Bull could receive a high price from this potential sale.
While speaking to OE24 (as quoted by Formula Passion), Marko said,
“There are many interested parties but in the end, the final decision is up to the shareholders. The price is high for a racing team, but nothing has been decided yet“.
Reports of Red Bull considering the sale of their sister team, first emerged in 2023, as a rumored $700 million deal made the headlines. The team’s continued underperformance made the higher-ups at Red Bull consider parting ways with the outfit, which they bought from Minardi in 2005.
Interestingly, Marko asked Red Bull to hold on to V-CARB (AlphaTauri last year). The 80-year-old wanted to help them improve their performances, and make them competitive so that they get a higher price when going ahead with its sale.
AlphaTauri finished P8 in the championship last season, three points behind Williams and a whopping 95 behind Alpine. This year, however, the revamped V-CARB team is currently sixth in the championship standings, having scored seven points after the first four races.
Red Bull won’t be short of suitors if they consider selling V-CARB
Andretti has already made its intentions clear of wanting to join the F1 grid sometime in the near future. However, since it was Formula One Management (FOM) that declined their application to join the grid in 2025, the American outfit could have to wait until 2028.
This could change if Andretti buys one of the current teams on the grid. If Red Bull is keen on selling V-CARB, Andretti could take over the Faenza-based outfit and guarantee its place in the F1 grid as early as 2026.
Michael Andretti hasn’t hidden the fact that he is adamant about getting into F1, and his desperation could lead to Red Bull squeezing out a higher price from the probable deal. On the other hand, to join F1 as an eleventh team, they will need to meet the requirements laid out by FOM.
FOM rejected Andretti’s bid to join the grid because they claimed that the American team would not add any value to the sport. Moreover, FOM also expressed concern regarding Andretti’s ability to come up with their own power units for the 2026 campaign, a season in which F1 will introduce new regulations.
If V-CARB or Red Bull’s sister team ceases to exist, and Andretti buys them out, the latter’s into the sport could turn out to be much easier than originally thought.
