Christian Horner; This is the reason why we ended the conversation with Porsche



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Christian Horner; This is the reason why we ended the conversation with Porsche

There are rumors about a partnership between Red Bull and Porsche, however, Red Bull boss Christian Horner denied that it would happen despite the talk. “Obviously with Red Bull becoming a powertrain manufacturer in 2026, it was always natural to hold discussions,” he said for Motorsport.com.

“Those discussions have now been concluded, and the consensus was that it was not right for Red Bull's involvement in F1. We committed to becoming a powertrain manufacturer a year and a half ago, or just over that. We've invested massively in facilities and people and the first Red Bull engine fired up approximately a month ago.

So it's a tremendously exciting new chapter for Red Bull, and it's never been contingent or dependent upon an involvement from a third party or an OEM. That was absolutely never a prerequisite." Porsche is a financially strong team and could mean a lot for Red Bull, but such things are irrelevant for the Red Bull CEO if some other things are missing.

"But only if it fitted with our DNA and our long term strategy. There was never a financial discussion. Porsche is a great brand. But the DNA is quite different. During the discussion process it became clear that there was a strategic non-alignment.

Red Bull has demonstrated what it's capable of in F1. And obviously, as an independent team and now engine manufacturer we look forward to go to competing against the OEMs with the powertrain as well as the chassis."

Christian Horner on cooperation


The Red Bull team is ready to cooperate with anyone who has concrete and clear offers.

Their ambitions remain the same. The Red Bull team always had only the highest ambitions "We are fully focused on a Red Bull power unit. And if there was a like-minded partner that could contribute something to the project, then of course you would have to absolutely consider that.

But it's not a prerequisite. We will be the only team other than Ferrari to have engine and chassis all on one campus under one roof. We believe that for the long-term competitiveness of the team, is absolutely the right thing to be doing.

And of course, there are other opportunities it presents as well. RB17 for example, we could potentially even produce our own power unit for that project, so strategically for us having the whole campus under one roof makes a great deal of sense."