The sliding doors moment that saved Red Bull and Porsche

OPINION: Everything looked set for Red Bull and Porsche to join forces for the 2026 season, before the marriage between both parties was called off. While at the time it looked like a major coup for Formula 1 in gaining both VW Group powerhouses Audi and Porsche for 2026, Red Bull and Porsche have really been spared a potentially fractious relationship.

Matt Kew Dec 7, 2022, 3:54 PM

The festive period is generally regarded as a time to be with friends and family. But Red Bull probably appreciates being all by itself just now. Better that than try to struggle on with a relationship where there’s irreconcilable difference or seek a divorce. However, behind a set of sliding doors, that’s a scenario which was very nearly presented to the constructors’ champion.

A close call with a winter of discontent was inspired by events at the height of summer. In July of this year, all eyes were on a trip to Austria. With the German Grand Prix falling off the Formula 1 calendar after 2019, it was on Red Bull home turf that a partnership with Porsche would be announced.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport's F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 after stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham's banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing is undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.