Porsche CEO Oliver Bloom says he had a ‘handshake deal’ over a 2026 F1 partnership before contract talks with Red Bull fell apart.
Red Bull has been known for some time to be in talks with Porsche over a partnership for the 2026 F1 season, when new engine regulations will be introduced.
However, Red Bull and Porsche might not agree on terms relating to the management of the team and the deal fell through.
F1 team principal Christian Horner, who has led Red Bull Racing since 2005, said his team would not sacrifice its DNA in any deal.
Oliver Bloom has confirmed that he wanted Porsche to be an equal partner in the deal, but Red Bull chose to withdraw at the last minute.
“Negotiations went very well,” Bloom said.
“We wanted to be equal partners. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether to sell shares. That’s fine. We played fair.”
“We’ll see what happens in the future and what’s fascinating. We have a huge motorsport program ahead of us that we look forward to.”
Porsche is eager to join the F1 grid as the new era of F1 begins and has not ruled out the possibility of forming partnerships with other existing teams.
Parent company Volkswagen has pushed its involvement in F1, with Audi, also owned by Volkswagen, entering the F1 grid in 2026.
Audi plans to build its own F1 engine and enter as a works team by buying a stake in the team now known as Alfa Romeo, run by the Sauber Group.
Oliver Bloom was speaking at Porsche’s traditional end-of-season party at the Porsche Casino Weissach in Germany. There, Fritz Enzinger bid farewell as head of the brand’s motorsport activities.
Speed Week reports that Fritz Enzinger led Porsche’s failed negotiations with Red Bull this year.
“Enzinger made it known that he would probably have continued working for the Volkswagen Group had his contract not been broken,” Speed Week reported.
Category: F1 / Porsche / red bull
