Why Red Bull could easily leave Formula One

The latter may be pure bluff of course, but the reality is also that Red Bull have enormous power in Formula 1 with two teams. For years now, F1 has had a 20-car grid and in almost all racing series this is seen as the absolute minimum. As soon as the number of participants drops below 20 structurally, it usually means the beginning of the end for that series.

A departure of Red Bull in the short term could mean that for at least one of the two teams no buyer can be found. Moreover, signing the new Concorde Agreement until 2025 will not stop them. Red Bull have already anticipated a departure by enforcing a flexible contract that teams can terminate annually.

Red Bull can continue as sponsor

And what would Red Bull actually lose if they quit? Yes, Red Bull's name will be said less often when they are no longer competing as a manufacturer, but by sponsoring drivers and teams separately, they can be almost as visible as they are now for a fraction of the price.

Just look at MotoGP and the past Dakar Rally as examples. Due to a combination of sponsorship deals, you have to work very hard to find footage that does not include a Red Bull logo. In the Dakar Rally, the entire top three cars and trucks were sponsored by Red Bull, despite the fact that they are three different manufacturers.

It is highly likely that the energy drink manufacturer does not need to be own Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri to have a similar marketing reach. It is widely believed that you have to be crazy to buy an expensive F1 team and Dieter Mateschitz has two. He is primarily a fan of the sport and competes for the fun and honour of it, but has absolutely no need of the sport to keep his company afloat.