F1 Return Off Table for Porsche After Red Bull Fallout

Porsche closes the chapter on Formula 1 after a collapsed deal with Red Bull.

Following the failed deal with Red Bull, Porsche has shelved its Formula 1 ambitions, with the prospect of an entry now off the table, according to the brand’s Motorsport Chief, Thomas Laudenbach.

Porsche’s aspirations to return to Formula 1 are now “a closed chapter,” Laudenbach has unequivocally confirmed. It marks the brand’s first comment on a Formula 1 entry since the release of the 2026 regulations in June.

The decision comes almost two years after the collapse of a planned partnership with Red Bull, which would have made Porsche a 50 percent owner of the team and its new powertrain division.

At that time, in September 2022, Porsche described Formula 1 in a statement as “an attractive environment,” stating that negotiations with Red Bull would not be pursued further. Now, however, Laudenbach has confirmed that an entry into the premier class is “not a topic for us.”

“It’s off the table: At the moment, Formula 1 is not a task for us, and we are not investing energy into this matter. We are focusing solely on what we are currently doing, and if you look at that, we have many different activities: We are well occupied and very happy with what we are doing.”

Porsche Well Positioned Even Without Formula 1

Laudenbach points to Porsche’s broad motorsport portfolio, describing it as “almost a perfect fit for the brand”: “We are involved in customer racing, from track days through GT4 and brand cups to professional GT racing.”

“Moreover, we are racing in the two most significant endurance racing series (WEC and IMSA; Ed.) with our partner Penske. The third area is our involvement in Formula E, the only high-level all-electric series, as electrification is very important to our brand.”

In this respect, Laudenbach sees Porsche as “really well positioned” and also makes it clear that the brand has no interest in entering the IndyCar series as an engine supplier.

As recently as April 2022, Volkswagen had announced that both Porsche and Audi were aiming for Formula 1 entries and that plans were in the “final stages of evaluation.” For Porsche, this evaluation included a collaboration with Red Bull, which ultimately did not come to fruition.

According to Porsche, the sought-after partnership on an “equal footing” could not be achieved. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner later explained that there was a “strategic mismatch” and that the team did not want to compromise its “values and virtues.”

Red Bull and Ford, Audi and Sauber

The Milton Keynes-based team ultimately agreed on a partnership with Ford for 2026 to build the new 2026 engine from Red Bull Powertrains.

Audi announced in August 2022 its intention to enter Formula 1 for the first time as an engine supplier in 2026, and acquired a minority stake in Sauber early last year before completing a full takeover this spring.

Porsche last participated in Formula 1 over 30 years ago—in the 1991 season—as an engine supplier for Footwork. During its first stint, which occurred in the first two years of the 1.5-litre formula from 1961, it won only a single World Championship race.

Dan Gurney triumphed at the French Grand Prix in Rouen in 1962 driving a Porsche 804. Later, McLaren tasked Porsche with developing the 1.5-litre turbo engine, which ran under the TAG label (Techniques d’Avant Garde) and secured the World Championship titles in 1984, ’85, and ’86.