The team of driver Max Verstappen in conversation to sell another of his teams before reaching the 2026 season
Formula 1 is a dizzying sport and not only because of the speeds reached by its single-seaters. Changes and strategies off the track are also part of the adrenaline of this king of motorsports. One of the strongest events that circulates in the corridors of F1 is the plan of Red Bull to sell AlphaTauri before the implementation of the new rules in 2026.
Since 2006, Red Bull has maintained a two-team presence in F1. That year, the energy drink giant bought out Italy-based Minardi stragglers and remade them into Scuderia Toro Rosso. Red Bull teams have launched drivers of the stature of max verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, who took the team’s first victory at the Monza Grand Prix in 2008. In 2020, the Italian team was reborn as AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s own clothing brand. But despite Pierre Gasly taking another victory at Monza, AlphaTauri has struggled to maintain that level and currently sits penultimate in the 2023 constructors’ championship, with just two points from the first five races.
Sale rumors persist in Formula 1
Red Bull has consistently denied reports that they are looking to sell the team, but the rumors have persisted following the death of founder Dietrich Mateschitz. According to these rumors, Red Bull would be open to offers for the AlphaTauri team. F1 business expert Mark Gallagher, speaking on the GP Racing Magazine podcast, stated that there is no longer a need for Red Bull to have a second team.
Gallagher argues that AlphaTauri is an anomaly in Formula 1 currently. It was created by the driver development vision of Mateschitz and Helmut Marko, and politically, gave them an extra seat at the table during F1’s Ecclestone era. But times have changed, and that reason is no longer relevant.
The profitability of selling AlphaTauri
According to Gallagher, Red Bull could sell the equipment for a large sum of money. It is estimated that buying an F1 team would require at least half a billion dollars. The expert points out that there is a group of people interested in entering F1, some of them with the necessary money and seriousness to do so.
In this sense, the brand AlphaTauri might not be reaching its goals and it doesn’t seem to have relevance as a business. The driver development program has also been called into question. For Gallagher, the fact that they have hired Sergio Pérez, who happens to be the perfect number two for Max on the team, is an example that this program is not fulfilling its objectives.