A duel between Mercedes and Porsche in Formula 1 would have pleased Toto Wolff and, in his opinion, would also have been better for Red Bull
The intended deal with Porsche has fallen through, but Christian Horner is convinced that Red Bull is perfectly capable of handling the powertrains project itself, without a major car manufacturer as a technology partner. But: “That’s what Williams thought when they parted company with BMW,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff quips.
The Austrian alludes to the fact that Frank Williams and Patrick Head terminated their partnership with BMW at the end of 2005 because they thought they would be better off as an independent team. A transitional season with Cosworth followed in 2006, and then a whole series of partners: Toyota from 2007 to 2009, Cosworth in 2010 and 2011, Renault in 2012 and 2013 and Mercedes since 2014.
However, Williams has never been able to match its earlier successes since it stopped working with BMW. Wolff hopes that Red Bull will not suffer a similar fate without Porsche: “It is a brave strategy to set up autonomously. To have your own power unit and not be dependent on an OEM, that’s what Red Bull has always wanted. “
“Now it’s really like that – that’s the strategy they’ve initiated. I’m curious to see how they do with it in 2026, 2027 and 2028,” Wolff said. “It’s clearly setting a new trend, and I’m also curious to see if Porsche might come in and brand the engine, or if Honda might do that as well. “
The 50-year-old regrets, by the way, that the Red Bull-Porsche deal, which was already so far advanced, unexpectedly fell through in the final metres of the marathon. It would have been exciting for a brand like Mercedes to compete at the highest level in motorsport against a German premium manufacturer like Porsche.
“As a Mercedes representative, I think it’s a shame that we can’t fight with Porsche,” he says. “Porsche-Red Bull would have been a mega entry, a great brand. For reasons I don’t know, it didn’t work out. It would have been great for Formula 1 and for the attractiveness of our sport if that had come about. “
