After many months of discussions between Porsche and Red Bull, the German marque has made a rather surprising statement. As you may be aware, Porsche was supposed to enter Formula 1 in 2026 by a tie-up with Red Bull. Well, the German marque has announced that the deal “will not come about.”
According to Porsche's statement, the conclusion was made by both companies, who have decided to no longer continue their talks about the partnership.
While Porsche's representatives did not go into too much detail, as one can imagine that talks like these have stacks of non-disclosure agreements, the German company did mention that the premise involved a partnership that would be based on an equal footing.
The described equal footing of the partnership was meant to include not just an engine supply deal, but also the team. As Porsche noted, “this could not be achieved.” It is unclear what the obstacles were, but it is evident that the deal is not happening, or at least not now.
Porsche's representatives have underlined the fact that the racing series remains an attractive environment for them with the finalized rule changes, and that they will continue to monitor the series. In other words, Porsche still wants to enter Formula One, but this deal with Red Bull is not the way forward for them.
With this announcement, which does clarify things with the Red Bull deal, Porsche has unintentionally opened the door for more speculation regarding its potential partners in the sport. To be fair, there were other discussions that led people to believe that the tie-up between Red Bull and Porsche was not proceeding smoothly.
As a reference, on the same day as Porsche's previous announcement, which confirmed talks with Red Bull after months of speculation, the Germans at Audi announced their entry in F1 in the 2026 season. The latter just happened to coincide with the day when Alfa Romeo announced its departure from thesport after the 2023 season.
While Porsche's representatives did not go into too much detail, as one can imagine that talks like these have stacks of non-disclosure agreements, the German company did mention that the premise involved a partnership that would be based on an equal footing.
The described equal footing of the partnership was meant to include not just an engine supply deal, but also the team. As Porsche noted, “this could not be achieved.” It is unclear what the obstacles were, but it is evident that the deal is not happening, or at least not now.
Porsche's representatives have underlined the fact that the racing series remains an attractive environment for them with the finalized rule changes, and that they will continue to monitor the series. In other words, Porsche still wants to enter Formula One, but this deal with Red Bull is not the way forward for them.
With this announcement, which does clarify things with the Red Bull deal, Porsche has unintentionally opened the door for more speculation regarding its potential partners in the sport. To be fair, there were other discussions that led people to believe that the tie-up between Red Bull and Porsche was not proceeding smoothly.
As a reference, on the same day as Porsche's previous announcement, which confirmed talks with Red Bull after months of speculation, the Germans at Audi announced their entry in F1 in the 2026 season. The latter just happened to coincide with the day when Alfa Romeo announced its departure from thesport after the 2023 season.