Porsche’s motorsport boss, Thomas Laudenbach, has confirmed that the brand’s F1 plans are now officially a “closer chapter” after the fall-out of the Redbull partnership. “It is off the table. Right now, F1 is not a task for us and we are not spending any energy on that,” he explained in a statement.
Laudenbach further added that Porsche had no interest in joining the IndyCar Series as an engine supplier either.
“We are only focused on what we do right now, and if you look at it, we have many different activities: we are well-occupied and extremely happy with what we do… We are engaged in customer racing from track days, GT4, one-make series up to professional GT racing ,” he continued.
“On top of that, we are racing in the two most important endurance racing series (the World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship with the 963 LMDh) with our partner Penske.
“The third part, since electrification of our brand is very important, is our engagement in Formula E, which is the only full-electric series on a high level.
“I think we are really well served,” the statement ends.
RELATED: Porsche and Audi Drop a Formula 1 Bombshell.
The latest update comes after Morocco’s Conseil de la Concurrence (Competition Council) released documents in July 2022 showing Porsche was in the process of acquiring a 50% stake in Red Bull Technology. However, the two parties later confirmed that the partnership had been terminated just 12 months down the line.
“In the course of the last few months, Porsche AG and Red Bull GmbH have held talks on the possibility of Porsche’s entry into Formula 1,” said a statement from Porsche. “The two companies have now jointly come to the conclusion that these talks will no longer be continued.”
Audi announced it would be entering Formula 1 in 2026, and has since completed a 100% takeover of the Sauber team. They’ve even added HAAS driver Nico Hülkenberg to their roster, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Carlos Sainz join the Audi team, too.
Fans were patiently awaiting the specific details of the partnership, which were due to be announced after the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved engine regulations from 2026. However, they never came as expected, and rumours of the partnership being terminated began to swirl.
The two marquee brands could not reach an agreement that was to include not only a power unit but also the team. “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,” the statement reads.
Honda is currently under contract to manufacture engines for the Red Bull F1 team until 2025. Still, with Red Bull opening its own engine manufacturing company, ‘Red Bull Powertrains’, in April 2022 to spearhead development ahead of regulation changes in 2026, there was a scenario where Porsche would co-develop engines with the brand. That idea has now been put to rest.
Porsche hasn’t seen a Formula 1 car on the starting grid since 1991 when it was an engine supplier for the Footwork Arrows FA12. The car was a hodgepodge of a vehicle with an engine so cumbersome that it had to be redesigned to physically fit it inside the car. The team failed to qualify in several races before switching drivers and engines, replacing the Porsche motor with the Ford-Cosworth DFR 3.5-litre V8.
The team’s best result was 10th, a far cry from their success in endurance racing at Le Mans, which includes more than 19 overall victories and 109 class wins in the GT Class.
