There’s a clear gap between the firm details of the leaked document specifying Porsche’s planned buy-in to Red Bull’s Formula 1 operation and what the companies have said in response.
That was obvious when Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner, who is also CEO of the Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT) company that Porsche apparently intends to purchase a 50% stake in, was grilled by the media on Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Porsche’s intention to buy 50% of Red Bull Technology Ltd (the official company name of RBAT) was revealed by an official document recently published by mistake in Morocco.
The significance of Porsche buying into the company that designs and builds the Red Bull Racing cars and supplies parts to Red Bull’s other F1 team AlphaTauri is that so far Red Bull has primarily been in F1 with 100% ownership of its various entities.
Horner has been careful not to get sucked into talking specifically about that. He has not wanted to stray from a few key points, namely that “constructive” conversations are taking place with Porsche but are only at a discussion stage and that F1 finalising its 2026 technical regulations, including the new engine rules that are tempting Porsche and Audi in, is key before any of this can come to fruition.
On Saturday morning, The Race asked Horner if he could explain why there’s a willingness for Red Bull to sell 50% of a key F1 company to Porsche, should the deal progress as intended.
“There’s healthy dialogue with Porsche, and I think it’s great that a company like Porsche and Audi are looking at seriously coming into Formula 1,” Horner replied.
“But there’s some major caveats that we need to get past first, before things can get anywhere near progression, and that primarily focuses on what the final technical, sporting and financial regulations for the power unit are going to be.
“Are they going to be fair and equitable to the newcomers versus the current incumbents?
“So that is the first piece of the jigsaw that needs to be completed and it’s something that I know the FIA are working hard on. And hopefully in the coming weeks, we’ll get to see that.
“At that point, then, we’re able to sit down and have further discussion with the guys at Porsche.
“But it’s going to be a reasonably lengthy process I would assume, many things to discuss, but the most fundamental thing is, what are those regulations for 2026?
“And are they attractive enough for an entity like Porsche and Audi to come into Formula 1?”
Horner is trying to put the focus on the much-delayed 2026 engine rules, which have been held up by disagreements over concessions for new manufacturers – particularly giving them extra dyno hours compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault.
But if Red Bull’s usual model of 100% ownership changes, as is planned, then it will mark a clear strategic shift. So, this is a massively important topic. The deal could mark the start of Red Bull phasing itself out of F1 or just be a temporary change in the ownership structure as the organisation future-proofs itself.
Horner oversees this combination of businesses and it’s clear he wants to protect what he has built. What a Porsche deal sets Red Bull up to do long-term is crucial to this. Porsche could just be a partner to share the burden of costs and have an equal say in decisions until it decides to walk away and hand control back to Red Bull, or it may become the route through which Red Bull eventually sells the entire organisation.
Reading between the lines of most of Horner’s answers, we can see hints of the position his organisation has taken during its Porsche negotiations and where the long-term future of the team may lie in a supposed 50-50 partnership.
Horner has been consistently emphatic that this deal will be done on Red Bull’s terms. It has the infrastructure, it has the entry, it has the F1 experience. If Porsche wants to join it can – but it plays by Red Bull’s rules.
“Of course, a company like Porsche, it’s an enormous company, great heritage, phenomenal brand,” said Horner when asked why Red Bull would be willing to have a partner instead of its usual model of full ownership.
“So, of course there are attractions to that.
“But any partnership would have to fit with the Red Bull philosophy obviously and the DNA, the culture of who we are, how we go racing and what we’ve achieved.
“It would be absolutely fundamental to any discussion of not changing that.
“We’ve been successful for a reason and of course, any discussion that would be conditional of any involvement.”
Porsche could be a fantastic medium-/long-term ally for Red Bull, or it could be a long-term option to take over the business entirely.
What it can’t be is a short-term option that leaves the team in trouble on the other side.
“There’s plenty of speculation about this, but we’re really only at a discussion stage and there’s so many caveats based on regulations that are the fundamental part,” Horner said when asked about whether any deal has to have a long-term commitment from Porsche, which has previously only had short-term headline programmes in major categories – like LMP1 and the World Endurance Championship.
“I think Red Bull has demonstrated its commitment to Formula 1, its longevity in the sport, initially as a sponsor, and then as a team owner, and then as a double team owner, and then as a promoter with a circuit and so on.
“Anything that we look at is very much with the long-term in mind, we’re not looking at a short-term solution.
“Strategically it would have to fit obviously within the long-term plans that Red Bull has for its commitment in Formula 1.”
Those long-term Red Bull plans are not publicly known, though. Does it mean Red Bull will be around well beyond Porsche’s involvement in this project? Or is Red Bull’s long-term plan to scale back and then quietly withdraw from owning and running teams?
Red Bull’s massive F1 investment has been underpinned by enthusiastic support from owner Dietrich Mateschitz. Now 78, Matecschitz will not be around forever.
It is only logical for its F1 operation to ensure it is protected long-term. That is partly why the expansion of the company – with further investments like the new Powertrains facility and the plan to build Red Bull’s first in-house production vehicle, the RB17 – is so significant.
It means that, whether the Red Bull, Porsche, or A N Other name is above the door, there is a diverse F1 business here underpinned by a serious and sustainable model.
Horner has hardly hinted that he is planning for a future without Red Bull’s direct support. However, he has been very keen to stress just how much planning, investment and effort has gone into turning this organisation into what it is.
“Dietrich Mateschitz, what he’s put into Formula 1, and not just Formula 1, motorsport across the board, has been phenomenal,” said Horner when asked by The Race about the company’s long-term strategic focus, whether that is working with a partner or changing the ownership structure.
“He certainly would not agree to anything that in any way compromises the team in any way moving forward.
“We’re investing in other areas. The announcement of the RB17, which will be the first Red Bull car produced, is tremendously exciting.
“Powertrains as well is going from strength to strength, we’ve taken on further appointments and recruits that will be announced shortly, that are exciting for the project and I think that things are really taking shape.
“You can see in Milton Keynes we’ve gone from being an industrial estate or a few units on an industrial estate to a technology campus. And the investment by the group has been significant.
“With the new power unit regulations coming for 2026 we’ll be the only team other than Ferrari to have everything under one roof, on one site, on one campus and that’s tremendously exciting for us.
“Red Bull has seen tremendous growth in the sport, in everything that we’re doing. I think that commitment, that investment has been second to none.”
There’s a fierce pride within the Red Bull F1 tribe. It has grown to become an increasingly independent and successful operation that happens to run under a massive, globally recognised name (Red Bull). Now another one (Porsche) is set to join as well.
Horner wants to ensure that everything that’s been built, and everything that has been achieved, is not in any way threatened by a massive change to the way this organisation has operated for so long.
Whichever name(s) end up above the door in 2026 and beyond, the security and prosperity of the F1 team has to be given top priority.
[3D model by Chris Paul Design/Unkredible Studios]
