Red Bull are looking set to supply their own powertrains from 2026 or to return to a ‘works’ relationship with Honda, after talks with German manufacturer Porsche sensationally broke down.
It was reported that the VW-owned manufacturer simply demanded too much from the Austrian side, in regard to both the powertrain itself and their share in the team.
Red Bull were unhappy that Porsche not only wanted a 50 percent stake in the team, but also that they wanted full control over the power unit.
This left Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and chief technology officer Adrian Newey concerned, with Horner admitting that the Germans got “a little bit ahead of themselves”.
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“Big organisations need significant planning and perhaps they started getting a little bit ahead of themselves,” said Horner.
“There was never a binding commitment signed between the parties so that must have been subjective or conjecture on their part.”
An announcement regarding the now broken partnership was set for August, after it was discovered that Porsche had incredibly submitted documents to Morocco’s Conseil de la Concurrence, who published the relevant files.
Porsche are now searching for a new team to partner with for 2026, with it becoming increasingly difficult to predict where, especially given that Audi look set to takeover Sauber.
The Red Bull/Porsche breakdown came as a surprise, given that the deal looked all but certain early in the year.
A delay in the vote to determine whether the new engine regulations would be introduced in 2026 or not is suspected to have been the nail in the coffin for the duo, after no announcement was made by either company following the World Motor Sport Council’s confirmation of the new regs for 2026.
Horner denies these rumours as well as suggestions that the deal would’ve been done had the vote happened sooner, with the Brit admitting that “many things” need to be done by the FIA regarding the new engine rules.
“There were so many things within the engine regs that were still to be fixed,” added Horner.
“Actually, there are still probably quite a few elements that need further discussion and fine-tuning within those regulations.
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“The FIA have done their best to accommodate newcomers into the sport.
“From a technical perspective, large elements of the engine have been carried over so it makes the job of the newcomers harder, particularly without a significant offset in the development phase in the next three to four years.
“I guess they have come up with a set of regulations that are a compromise that probably nobody is entirely happy with but that means they have achieved a middle-ground.”