'Red Bull rejects $3 billion Abu Dhabi-backed bid for Racing Bulls'

The reported bid was led by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's investigator, Dean Attew, and financier Andrew Harriott. They approached Red Bull with an offer backed by Abu Dhabi-based funds.

Attew was also previously lined up to lead a bid to acquire the F1 Group from private equity firm CVC Capital, which ultimately sold its shares to Liberty Media in 2016.

Red Bull's two-team model is currently unique in Formula 1. Before making a step forward to Red Bull Racing to compete at the front, the team's young talents can get experienced at Racing Bulls at the highest level. The Austrian team's current two drivers, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, both had spells at the Faenza-based team as well.

This has recently received heavy criticism, especially by McLaren CEO Zak Brown. The American first sent a letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem about the matter. "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," he wrote.

In an open letter celebrating his team's 1000th Grand Prix, Brown took another jab at Red Bull. "Other than when it comes to power units – which not everyone manufactures – teams should operate entirely independently to ensure total fairness. When it comes to technical, financial or governance related matters, alliances have the potential to cloud things.