Red Bull Retains RB F1: Fresh Strategy for 2024

Red Bull considered selling AlphaTauri before a strategic shift transformed it into RB F1, focusing on a fresh competitive direction.

RB F1 CEO Peter Bayer revealed that parent company Red Bull had considered reducing its presence to just one Formula 1 team before the 2024 season.

The Faenza-based team, now known as Visa Cash App RB F1, underwent a rebranding during the offseason for Red Bull’s “sister” team.

Originally founded as Minardi, the team transitioned to Toro Rosso from 2006 to 2019 and AlphaTauri from 2020 to 2023.

Before Red Bull ultimately decided to retain RB F1 with the help of new commercial partners like Hugo and Visa, there were indeed plans to sell the team.

“Red Bull defined a strategy because, I think it was no secret, they were at least discussing whether we should keep both teams or focus on one, then run our F1 operations through Red Bull Racing,” Bayer told Motorsport Week.

“But very quickly, they concluded ‘no, we want to keep both teams,’ as there are many positives.”

Team principal Laurent Mekies added that Red Bull was “certainly looking for the best possible way to utilize a second F1 team.”

“They felt they needed a fresh start in terms of the team’s positioning, both from a pure identity perspective and from a competitiveness standpoint.”

“What they told us was, ‘we have a lot of great ideas for what we want to do with this second team, but finishing 8th, 9th, or last in the championship won’t work,’ because no matter what message we have, if we’re at the back of the grid, it will be hard to convey that message and complement what we’re not already doing with the Red Bull team that’s winning all the races.”

“The second thing they told us is that there are very, very clear rules about treating the two teams as part of one entity. Yes, you’re competing against each other, but where the rules allow, can we see all sources of collaboration, doing everything the regulations permit, which wasn’t always the case before.”