Details of Porsche’s plan to buy 50 percent of Red Bull’s F1 team emerge

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Plans for Porsche to acquire a 50 percent stake in Red Bull’s Formula One operation have been made public in a document published by Morocco’s Conseil de la Concurrence.

The news follows months of speculation about Porsche’s return to F1 in 2026, but is not final confirmation that a deal has been done.

The document, which was first reported on by Motorsport-Total, was made public to comply with Morocco’s antitrust laws and reveals the proposed purchase of 50 percent of Red Bull Technology, Red Bull Racing’s parent company, by Porsche.

A tie-up between Red Bull and Porsche was expected to be announced at this month’s Austrian Grand Prix, but a delay in the FIA’s approval of F1’s engine regulations for 2026 postponed confirmation.

In its document, the Conseil de la Concurrence said it was notified of the proposed deal on July 8, which was the Friday before the Austrian Grand Prix. It also said the joint venture was being set up with the aim of developing and manufacturing power units for the Red Bull F1 team.

On Thursday, Red Bull issued a statement to ESPN saying Porsche’s involvement with its F1 team and newly launched powertrain division was still under discussion, but also made reference to the final approval of the 2026 engine regulations, which is expected to be completed by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in August.

“Further to speculation that has been reported about a potential future involvement from Porsche into Red Bull Powertrains and Red Bull’s Formula One team. As has been previously stated, the companies remain engaged in constructive discussions,” the Red Bull statement said.

“We all are looking forward to the satisfactory finalisation of the FIA’s various sporting, financial and technical regulations for 2026.”

The 2026 engine regulations will see a switch to 100 percent sustainable fuel as well as an increase in the electrical power supplied by the hybrid element of the power unit.

However, the complex MGU-H technology, which exists on current F1 power units to recover energy from the V6 engine’s turbocharger and combat turbolag, will be dropped. The 2026 power unit rules also aim to make F1 technology cheaper with the introduction of an engine development cost cap.

Red Bull set up its own powertrain division last year after engine supplier Honda decided to withdraw from F1 at the end of the 2021 season. While Red Bull’s engines are still produced by Honda, they are badged Red Bull Powertrains or RBPT.

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