Porsche CEO Reveals Handshake Agreement With Late Red Bull Founder For F1 Project

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume who will become the CEO of the Volkswagen Group has revealed more details on why the planned joint venture with Red Bull fell through when many believed it to be a done deal. An interview with Speedweek which featured Blume and outgoing vice president Fitz Enzinger revealed that there was a handshake agreement with the late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz who passed away in October.

"The talks went very well, cooperation was agreed on with a handshake, but not finalised at the last minute. We wanted to be equal partners. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to sell shares. We think that's okay. We behaved honestly. We will see what happens in the future and what is attractive. We have a huge programme (in motorsport) ahead of us that we are looking forward to,” revealed Blume.

The indication here is that Red Bull changed its mind about selling a stake in the F1 team. Porsche clearly wanted a 50 per cent stake which is something many attributes to the fact that once Mateschitz became ill, senior members of the F1 team like team principal Christian Horner and head of motorsport Helmut Marko pushed back which resulted in the deal falling through.

As a side effect of the dissolution of the talks, Fitz Enzinger is also leaving Porsche after an 11-year stint. Enzinger was instrumental in making contact with Mateschitz and once it became clear the F1 project will not go through he decided to leave.