Red Bull Could Sell AlphaTauri F1 Team or Force Relocation to England

Red Bull might be considering a massive change for its second Formula 1 team, Scuderia AlphaTauri. German racing publication Auto Motor und Sport reported that the energy drink goliath is considering either moving the team from Italy to England or selling the team to a party already interested in joining the world championship. Red Bull is primarily aiming to reduce its overall F1 operating costs. The company no longer finds it financially prudent to enter two nearly independent F1 teams.

Red Bull’s change of direction was set into motion by the death of company co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz last year. Oliver Mintzlaff, the former head of the company’s four-team global soccer empire, was appointed the chief executive of all of Red Bull’s sports operations. According to AMuS, Mintzlaff’s stance on AlphaTauri is tied to the fact that the Italian-based team is more costly to operate than the senior team. Also, AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s fashion brand is starting to downsize and reduce its public presence.

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Red Bull hasn’t publicly commented on the report but also hasn’t rejected the rumor. Autosport reported that Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said, “In general, we don’t comment on rumors. It’s understandable that AlphaTauri can’t be satisfied with what it achieved last year - ninth place in the constructors’ championship. But such a decision is entirely up to the shareholders. These are rumors that we do not comment on in detail.”