First it was difficult to keep the deal a secret, now it might be difficult to keep the deal at all.
Red Bull and Porsche are yet to finalise plans to partner in 2026 and, with an urgent need to get to work on the new engines under the revised technical regulations, decisions need to be made quickly.
It was announced earlier on in the season that Porsche and Audi were waiting for the green light from Volkswagen, their parent company, to march into Formula 1 in four years’ time and begin to plant the seeds of a new era of dominance.
There were initial reports that the two German motoring giants were planning to make a brand-new powertrain together and supply it to McLaren and Red Bull.
READ: Sergio Perez makes admission about Max Verstappen
Since then, things have become clearer, and the pair intend to come in as entirely separate entities.
Audi are set to purchase a team, which will see them move that team’s operation to their factory just outside their headquarters in Ingolstadt.
The works project will see F1 engines made in Germany for the first time since 2009, something they pointed out in a friendly dig at Mercedes their press release announcing their entry.
They are expected to buy the Sauber team, who are splitting with Alfa Romeo at the end of next year, before their operation is expected to end in Zurich, with Audi moving it to Germany.
Porsche, meanwhile, have filed paperwork to buy 50 percent of Red Bull Technologies, and they have applied to trademark the term “F1nally.”
These all point to the obvious and, given they have begun to purchase stakes in the Technologies side of the business, it is expected that they also plan to work with AlphaTauri too.
Their plan is to make complete powertrains, likely in Red Bull’s new facility in Milton Keynes, meaning that the Austrian side would be a works team without officially operating as one.
However, recent noises from the deal have not been good; Red Bull are said to be nervous about the amount of shares Porsche are buying.
In a worst-case scenario for Red Bull, CEO Oliver Blume could be thinking of a hostile takeover, but Red Bull’s main concern at the moment is what happens if they take one hand off the wheel.
READ: Breaking: Audi confirm they’ll be entering Formula 1 in 2026
No one is saying it will come to that, but the possibility of Red Bull extending their deal with Honda if they cannot come to terms with Porsche on an engine deal.
Team principal Christian Horner said, quoted by grandpx.news, that negotiations are “not that simple,” although he would “welcome” a Porsche involvement as long as the terms are suitable for everyone.
Team adviser, Dr Helmut Marko, insisted that the Milton Keynes-based side are now ready to “build our own engine.”