Horner opens up about Porsche deal: 'Brought too much bureaucracy'

In the podcast The Diary of a CEO Red Bull team boss Christian Horner gave his take on the failed deal with Porsche. According to Horner, the partnership would have ruined the core of the team.

Six months ago, it seemed only a matter of time before Red Bull and Porsche would announce they were teaming up. But it was announced in the summer that the deal had folded, mainly because Porsche wanted too much say in the organisation. Porsche had reportedly demanded to take 50 per cent of the shares, which would have gone too far for Red Bull.

The independence and efficiency of the team would have been affected

In the podcast The Diary of a CEO, Horner has now given his take on the situation. The interviewer asked him about the importance of rapid internal communication in an organisation, and Horner immediately referred to the risks the deal with Porsche would have brought.

"Recently, we had exactly that dilemma, where we had an opportunity to work with a new manufacturer taking a significant shareholding in the team. But it was recognized that our DNA would be affected if we could not continue to operate exactly in the manner that has made us successful with that ability to make quick-fire decisions without having to go through layers and layers of process and bureaucracy."

Without the deal with Porsche, Red Bull is now developing their own engine, under the name Red Bull Powertrains. The team did keep open the option of working with other manufacturers again in the future.