A report by Reuters news agency on Thursday confirms information published by Motorsport-Total.com on February 18 that the Volkswagen Group’s entry into Formula 1 will be finalized as early as next week could.
Actually, the group’s supervisory board should have dealt with the proposals made by the brands Porsche (with Red Bull) and Audi (with McLaren) as early as March 4th. However, in the middle of the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were other topics to discuss than car racing, so the topic was postponed for the time being.
The all-important meeting of the Supervisory Board is now scheduled to take place on April 5th. If there is no decision then, it could be made on April 12th. “Hopefully we’ll be able to communicate our intention to get into Formula 1 afterwards,” the Reuters report quoted an unnamed insider as saying.
It was recently unclear whether the group would only send one of its brands (Porsche) or even both (Porsche and Audi) to Formula 1. In any case, everything is set up on the Red Bull side for cooperation from 2026: Red Bull Powertrains is currently being set up and can then be used for the new alliance, and the contract with Max Verstappen has been extended until 2028.
This is an important signal to a possible Red Bull partner from 2026, because if Porsche really came, you would have the certainty of still having a three-year Verstappen contract and thus one of the best drivers in the joint team.
Verstappen is, admits Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, “clearly an important figure in this whole chess game. The consideration with possible manufacturers is not unreasonable,” he says in an interview with “Formel1.de”.
In addition, Marko is also asked how he would like a Red Bull Porsche with Verstappen and starting number 1 in the 2026 season. His answer – with a grin on his face – is evasive: “If I say ‘fine’, then you think again that we have some kind of agreement!”
“We’re talking in all directions”
Nothing has been fixed with Porsche yet, says the 78-year-old Austrian, emphasizing: “Everything is open. We are holding talks in all directions. I think it’s logical that we’re the most attractive partner for a manufacturer. A number 1 in of the constellation would be nice, but we’re still miles away from that.”
At Red Bull Powertrains, a division that could also be used by any manufacturer partner from 2026, work is already being done on the 2026 drive, says Marko. Although the regulations have not yet been finalized in detail, the general conditions are clear so far. And “powertrains should be fully functional by the middle of the year,” Marko is convinced.