Red Bull and Porsche’s 2026 partnership is officially off, after the Austrian team were unhappy with the offer presented by the Volkswagen-owned manufacturer.
Porsche were demanding a 50 percent share in the team, making them equal owners.
As well as this, they wanted to be in full control of the power unit which they were going to supply to Red Bull from 2026, something Red Bull weren’t happy about having not long opened their own powertrain department.
Both parties announced that the deal was off, with the German manufacturer having released the following statement.
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“The two companies have now jointly come to the conclusion that these talks will no longer be continued,” said the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker.
“The premise was always that a partnership would be based on an equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership but also the team. This could not be achieved.”
Red Bull don’t seem particularly bothered by the breakdown in talks with the famous manufacturer, with the team’s top advisor Dr Helmut Marko, revealing that Red Bull “are in talks with Honda” about the Japanese manufacturer returning as a ‘works’ side.
“We don’t need anyone at the moment,” he told Austrian radio station OE3.
“If it turns out that there are synergies and benefits, then we are open. Now that Porsche’s cancellation has become official, we have received some surprising enquiries.
“We are in talks with Honda,” he revealed.
Porsche are reportedly now looking into a potential partnership with McLaren or Williams, as they push on to find a suitable partner for 2026.
Marko was questioned about the Porsche deal and what went wrong in the end, with it having looked like a certainty that the pair would merge a partnership when the new engine regulations are introduced in 2026.
“Ultimately, Porsche wanted to fill or double-fill every position at Red Bull,” said the 79-year-old.
“In other words, they wanted to control almost everything.
“Of course it doesn’t work that way.”
Red Bull have strived off not having a big manufacturer as their powertrain supplier, with the team having already fired up their very first ‘in-house’ built engine for 2026.
“It became clear as we talked that we would have become too bureaucratic and lost our flexibility as a team,” added Marko.
“As we are now, we are in a good position,” said the Austrian. “We have the fastest driver until 2028. We have Adrian Newey, the best engineer. And we have an engine factory that will be fully operational within 55 weeks.
“The first engine has already fired up. That means we are completely self-sufficient.”
Formula 1 is thriving at the moment, with the championship currently gaining increasing attention from prospective new teams and manufacturers.
Audi have already confirmed that they’ll be joining the series in 2026 as a powertrain supplier, with the German’s looking into a potential partnership with Sauber.
Michael Andretti has also shown a desire to have a team in the championship but was denied entry by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
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Domenicali wants to prove that the sport isn’t “afraid” of losing the interest of big companies like Porsche, with the championship continuing to be run at the “highest level”.
“Today, like never before, we have a mixture of teams, manufacturers and engine suppliers at the highest level,” said Domenicali, as quoted by f1-insider.com.
“If something changes, we know what to do.”