Porsche’s return to F1 appears to have stalled in the pit lane following the company’s revelation that talks with Red Bull about a partnership have collapsed.
The sports car firm was hoping to re-enter the world of grand prix racing in 2026 alongside sister company Audi after more than six decades away. Parent company VW’s board had already approved both teams’ F1 plans earlier this year and Porsche was in talks with Red Bull about joining forces. But now Porsche has confirmed rumors that the deal is off, meaning only Audi has a confirmed place on the grid.
“In the course of the last few months, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG and Red Bull GmbH have held talks on the possibility of Porsche’s entry into Formula 1. The two companies have now jointly come to the conclusion that these talks will no longer be continued,” Porsche said in a statement.
“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.”
Related: Audi Sport Shows F1 Livery Ahead Of 2026 Entry, Announces Hybrid Powetrain Development
But Porsche emphasised that the breakdown of these talks didn’t mean the end of its F1 ambitions.
“With the finalised rule changes, the racing series nevertheless remains an attractive environment for Porsche, which will continue to be monitored,” the statement continued.
Porsche reportedly wanted to apply its own name to the 2026 Red Bull engine currently being developed in the UK and also wanted a 50 percent stake in Red Bull’s F1 operation. But it appears that Red Bull wasn’t prepared to cede that much control, and also feared that it wouldn’t be able to react swiftly to events with Porsche trying to assert its slower, more conventionally corporate style of management.
“Porsche is a great brand, but the DNA is quite different,” Red Bull’s Christian Horner told Motorsport. “During the discussion process it became clear that there was a strategic non-alignment.”
