Red Bull set to announce Porsche as its new F1 engine manufacturer: Reports

According to a report by autohebdo.fr, the Red Bull-Porsche announcement is imminent as most of the details have been finalized. Earlier in the year, there were suggestions that most of the wrinkles in the contracts had been ironed out and Red Bull was just waiting for its home race in Austria to make the announcement.

The report also mentioned that the engine partnership has been finalized and an announcement will be made very soon. According to the report:

“The engine partnership that will link the Austrian team to the German manufacturer (but also born in Austria) from 2026, should be officially announced in the coming weeks.”

“All that was missing was an official promulgation which will take place as soon as the FIA has finalized and put on paper the details of the new engine regulations for 2026, but the team based in Milton Keynes and Porsche, the firm of Zuffenhausen, will indeed link their destinies in the next few years. years. This announcement indeed comes as the FIA wants to finalize the 2026 power unit regulations – potentially in the coming weeks – at least before the next meeting of the World Motor Sport Council next October.”

“If there is no cause and effect relationship between these two correspondences, we can however deduce that the discussions are closed on the side of Porsche, which had suspended its entry into F1 to the removal of the MGU-H (engine thermal generator) due to the design challenge it represents and the complexity of its role within the energy harvesting system.”

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With Red Bull-Porsche finalized, what's next for Audi?

With Porsche entry's to F1 all but finalized, there are still question marks over the route Audi is going to take as it charts its entry into F1 in 2026. Unlike Porsche, which is entering F1 as a power unit supplier first, Audi is planning to enter as a full works operation from the get-go.

The car giant has already tried to buy out McLaren in a deal that did not go through. There are suggestions that multiple teams on the grid are being looked at as potential opportunities. Teams like Aston Martin have even shown an overt interest in aligning with Audi but nothing has been finalized yet. According to the report:

“It now remains to know Audi’s intentions regarding its future involvement. Its problem being to buy a stable, we should not expect a quick announcement since, according to our information, the discussions are continuing in all directions, the blocking point being for some at the level of the price. F1 is booming, and so are the financial claims of potential sellers.”

With the Red Bull-Porsche deal pretty much done, it will be interesting to see the path Audi takes as it tries to enter the sport.