Red Bull make decision on $3bn sale of F1 team

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Red Bull make decision on $3bn sale of F1 team

Red Bull have reportedly come to a decision about an F1 team sale

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 21 July 2026 13:10

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Red Bull have reportedly turned down a $3 billion bid to buy their F1 team, led by a former adviser to Bernie Ecclestone.

The Times have reported that having received an eye-watering proposal to sell their junior F1 team, Racing Bulls, the energy drink giants have shut the door on what would have been a monumental team sale.

The bid is said to have been backed by investment funds based in Abu Dhabi and fronted by financier Andrew Harriott, and Dean Attew, an ex-investigator for F1 supremo Ecclestone.

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Prior to Liberty Media's acquisition of F1 which was agreed in 2016 and gave the sport an enterprise value of $8 billion, Attew was lined up to spearhead a consortium bid to buy the F1 Group from a private equity firm.

Once again however, his bid has reportedly proved unsuccessful, with Red Bull's rejection of the billion-dollar bid a clear sign they are committed to their A/B team structure that has become a hot topic in the paddock this season.

GPFans have contacted Red Bull for comment.

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Red Bull double down on A/B team F1 structure

Red Bull's decision to turn down the chance of a multi-billion dollar sale suggests they still feel there is a significant financial and competitive advantage to be gained from owning their junior squad.

Initially, the team purchased the Faenza-based outfit to serve as a junior driver pipeline to the main team, something which has proved useful given their aggressive approach to driver swaps and contract terminations in recent years.

Having gone through quite a few Red Bull juniors and drivers from elsewhere on the grid in an attempt to fill the cursed second seat alongside Max Verstappen, Red Bull now appear to have settled down with the promotion of Isack Hadjar.

Racing Bulls are the sister team to Red Bull Racing

Hadjar proved his worth at Racing Bulls in 2025 and after achieving a podium in his rookie season, was trusted to make the move up to the main team, where he is so far holding his own against his four-time champion team-mate.

But whilst the existence of Racing Bulls is proving fruitful for Red Bull, their rivals have not been so positive about its place on the grid.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown even went as far as sending a letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem about Red Bull's unusual team structure, warning that he felt it posed a serious threat to the sport's integrity.

"There is a real concern that the sport risks taking a step backwards in terms of integrity and fairness, at a time when the regulatory framework has been designed - with significant collective effort - to move in the opposite direction," Brown wrote.

The papaya boss went on to further explain his issue in the letter, adding: "We need to eliminate any further alliances, whether through ownership, strategic participation or any other equivalent form of control or influence, and we need to work together quickly to start the process of unwinding those already established to ensure that the future integrity of the sport is not compromised."

F1 Red Bull Racing Bulls Bernie Ecclestone