Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was left disappointed after hearing the news that Red Bull won’t be partnering with Porsche from 2026, after the 50-year-old was excited to take on another German manufacturer.
With new engine regulations set to be introduced in 2026, the Volkswagen Group had announced that both Audi and Porsche would enter the championship from 2026, as engine suppliers.
Whilst Audi were recently confirmed by Formula 1 to be joining the championship in four years, Porsche are yet to be officially announced by the championship.
Audi are looking likely to takeover Sauber when the new regulations are introduced, with the VW-owned manufacturer eager for a German driver to lead their charge.
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Porsche were hoping to enter the sport right at the very top, with a deal to supply Red Bull with powertrains from 2026 looking all but certain.
However, both companies recently announced that no such deal would be taking place, following differing demands.
According to reports, Porsche demanded not only a 50 percent share in the team, but also full control over the power unit.
This went completely against what the Constructors’ leaders were planning on giving away, with the German manufacturer having demanded too much.
Red Bull wanted some control over the power unit, especially given the fact that the energy drink-owned team hasn’t long opened their very own powertrain department.
With the deal having now collapsed, Red Bull are looking set to produce their own power units, with the first prototype having already been fired up (excluding ERS).
The leading side are supposedly in talks with Honda; however, this is over smaller parts.
Wolff has labelled Red Bull’s strategy as “very bold”, with the Mercedes boss intrigued to see how they get on in 2026.
“I think it’s a very bold strategy,” said Wolff.
“Being self-sufficient is clearly a scenario that Red Bull have always wanted to achieve, have their own power unit, not be dependent of any other OEM. And here we go. That’s the strategy they have deployed. And we shall see what happens in ’26/’27/’28.”
Red Bull have targeted for many years to be completely self-sufficient, with that goal set to be virtually achieved should they supply their own power units from 2026.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner explained that producing their own engines when the new regulations are introduced is the “Red Bull way”, with the side always aiming to “achieve the impossible”.
“As soon as we made the decision there was full commitment,” said Horner.
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“It’s no small undertaking, some people are saying we’re completely mad to take on the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes and Renault and potentially even Honda starting from scratch.
“But that is exactly the Red Bull way, to achieve the impossible. That was said about designing and building a chassis. With the quality of people that we’ve managed to recruit, based in the UK, there hasn’t been an investment in the UK like this in an engine facility probably in the last 40 years.
“So that has enabled us to attract some phenomenal talent that we’re still actively recruiting, and announcing some more new members to the team in the near future.”