Red Bull’s Second Team Draws Billion-Dollar Offers

RB F1’s soaring valuation highlights Formula 1’s explosive growth, solidifying its commercial appeal and underscoring Red Bull’s strategic investments.

RB F1 is already valued at over one billion dollars, according to its CEO, Peter Bayer. Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Bayer revealed that following the death of Red Bull figurehead Dietrich Mateschitz, the new generation of leadership briefly considered maintaining only one team, Red Bull Racing.

“The owners quickly decided that this team indeed served a purpose,” Bayer stated, hinting that the prospect of a sale had also been attractive to the company.

“Formula 1 experienced incredible growth during that period. Williams was sold for approximately 150 million euros in 2020. Audi paid over 600 million euros for Sauber. Alpine sold shares based on a valuation of 900 million euros.”

“And we have already received offers exceeding one billion for the team. Keeping the team makes business sense. However, we were explicitly told we need to perform better on the track.”

To address this, greater synergies were established between RB and Red Bull’s main team, including increased parts sharing. Yet Bayer admits RB still represents a cost for Red Bull.

“Does anyone know any sponsors?” he joked. “If you look at the chassis alone, the top teams—Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren—are currently profitable. The others still rely on support from their owners.”

Bayer also confirmed that RB F1 will officially become Racing Bulls next year: “Fans and the media tell us that ‘Racing Bulls’ is simply the new identity. We want to emphasize this in our future communications.”

Meanwhile, Bayer downplayed rampant speculation that Franco Colapinto will directly join Red Bull Racing next year: “Our focus is clearly on Red Bull’s junior program.”

“We are concentrating on Yuki (Tsunoda) and Liam (Lawson) for now. Next in line is Isack Hadjar, with whom we are already working extensively. He spends significant time in the simulator for us.”