Formula One has historically been as much about the off track manoeuvres as it is the competitive racing. And when Eddie Jordan was famously outmanoeuvred by Flavio Briatore in 1991, losing control of Michael Schumacher’s contract, McLaren boss Ron Dennis greeted the Irish team owner in the paddock with the immortal words, “Welcome to the Piraña Club.”

The sport has always been as much about power and money as it is building the best prototype racing car in the world and claiming championship glory. Many have courted the fame and success in F1 but as Bernie Ecclestone once observed, F1 takes in billionaires and they leave as millionaires.

 

 

 

F1 route to fame and fortune

Yet the reverse is also true as a number of unknown risk takers have invested in Formula One and made their fortunes. Last summer Forbes up rated Toto Wolff from his previous estimated wealth to a value of $1.6bn much of which is attributed to the fact that Mercedes is now the second most valuable team in the sport at an estimated $3.8bn.

When you consider Liberty Media bought the entire commercial rights to Formula One back in 2017 for $4.7bn, Mercedes rise from the Brawn GP team which was infamously bought for £1 is nothing less than meteoric.

Ross Brawn flipped the collapsed Honda team in just one year from a soon to be extinct F1 contender to the apple of Mercedes eye and he and his co-shareholders received the handsome sum of £110m for their efforts. The Stuttgart based automotive manufacturer acquired 75% of the team with Nick Fry and Ross Brawn retaining a 30% interest and they were retained to build the F1 brand as Mercedes re-entered F1 after its half century absence.

Toto Wolff arrived on the scene with his band of financial backers and initially purchased from Brawn and Fry a 10% stake in Mercedes with Niki Lauda joining the party acquiring another 10%. The investor backed Austrian increased his stake to as Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos came on board buying Mercedes owned shares leaving the trio each now owning 1/3 of the company.

The mend behind the Horner assassination attempt

 

 

 

Horner builds F1 dynasty

On the other side of the tracks, Red Bull Racing which was bought from Ford as an ailing Jaguar branded outfit was funded entirely by billionaire energy drinks magnate Didi Mateschitz. He quickly disposed of the team principal Guenther Steiner and promoted GP2 team owner and boss Christian Horner to build what has become an F1 dynasty.

Horner persuaded the unhappy Adrian Newey to leave McLaren and join the Red Bull F1 project and between them in just 19 years they are now joint fourth with Williams on the all time list of Grand Prix winners and 12 more victories will see them displace Mercedes from their P3 place on the F1 honours roll.

Yet unlike Wolff, Horner was never offered the opportunity to own a share in the empire he co-built, but was handsomely rewarded with an £8m a year remuneration package.

When it became clear the godfather of Red Bull was terminally ill, Horner was rightly concerned about what would happen in the future. While he had the undying loyalty of the Austrian billionaire, it was not immediately clear who would control the destiny of the F1 team into the future.

Perez admits first mistake of the season

 

 

 

Turmoil at Red Bull HQ

Mateschitz son Mark inherited his 49% stake in the energy drinks empire and the right to appoint a certain number of board members to the Austrian registered Red Bull GmbH parent company. Yet the family of the creator of the magic energy drinks formula from the hinterlands of Thailand held the controlling 51% interest that had been agreed back in 1984 when the global drinks brand was founded.

The Thai’s have never milked publicity from their F1 team ownership and rarely attend races, they are private and little is reported of their activity in the media. Further they absolved themselves of all responsibility in the decision making for the F1 team, leaving Didi Mateschitz as the godfather of the organisation.

With the passing of Mateschitz senior it was unclear how the F1 team would be controlled and managed. Christian Horner was duly concerned that someone lacking the paternalistic interests of his former boss would gain control of the team which could jeopardise his position in the organisation he had built almost from the ground up.

Mark Mateschitz assumed his place on the board and promoted his friend Oliver Mintzlaff to CEO of the group’s sporting activities. Horner now had his answer as Mintzlaff sought to take control of the F1 team’s direction.

The Renault exit threat

 

 

 

Mateschitz jnr forcing the agenda

Prior to Didi’s passing, son Mark had approached Porsche as a potential partner for the new Red Bull Powertrains project but it soon became clear to Horner and the Red Bull F1 senior management  that the German sport scar manufacturer wanted too much control of the future day to day decisions along with 50% of the team ownership.

The Red Bull Powertrains project was conceived from the failed relationship between Red Bull F1 and Renault following the introduction of the new V6 Turbo Hybrid engines in 2014. Such was the fallout from the divorce between the parties, it seemed for some time as though Red Bull would be unable to find a power unit supplier as Mercedes and Ferrari refused to play ball and at the time Honda were exclusively contracted to McLaren F1.

Of course McLaren then ditched Honda who went on to partner with Red Bull and between them they have claimed five championships in the last three years.

Yet trouble appeared on the horizon once again for Red Bull Racing as the management board back in Japan threw another of its historic wobbles over its F1 future. They decided they would withdraw from F1 once again leaving Red Bull Racing in limbo.

Ricciardo says team mate Tsunoda “immature”

 

 

 

Horner at odds with Salzberg

Soon after footings were laid in Milton Keynes and the home of Red Bull Powertrains was erected in record time. With the current engines to be frozen until 2026, Red Bull picked up a number of the Mercedes high performance unit engineers who had so brilliantly built the all conquering V6 Turbo that was responsible for much of the team’s success between 2014-2020.

There was initially no interest in Red Bull partnering with a global manufacturer of combustion engines as the team Horner assembled were confident in their own abilities. The interest from Porsche was in some ways forced upon the Milton Keynes based team, but the failed negotiations opened the door for another partnership which would see Ford re-enter F1.

Initial reports appeared to suggests they were merely a cash sponsor wanting brand recognition from the boom in F1 interest, although more recently it appears there is some collaboration over the electric components in the new 2026 power units.

Having been resisted by Horner in his attempts to bring in Porsche, Mark Mateschitz and the F1 team boss relationship was damaged permanently and on the death of his father Horner was rightly concerned over his future.

Hamilton critical as Mercedes engineers make rookie mistake

 

 

 

Red Bull F1 buyout behind the scenes

As per FormulaPasssion.IT, the news has now emerged that Christian Horner along with some wealthy British Investors, has been working with the Thailand 51% owners of Red Bull to buy the Red Bull F1 team, and the Mark and his fellow Austrians, who own only 49% are furious.

The matter has divided the Red Bull GmbH camp bitterly with Dr. Helmet Marko finding himself embroiled in the arguments. Mateschitz junior began to let it be known he believed Horner was too senior and expensive for the business as he and Mintzlaff attempted to relocate decision making from Milton Keynes back to Salzburg.

As the acquisition appeared to gain momentum, out of the blue Christian Horner found himself at the centre of spurious allegations which in the world of kiss and tell appeared somewhat limp wristed.

Accused of “Inappropriate and controlling behaviour” Horner became the centre of an 8 week long investigation which saw him eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

Wolff points finger of blame at Hamilton

 

 

Mudslinging to discredit Horner

Less than 24 hours later, an anonymous email found its way to 149 recipients, F1 team bosses, the FIA, FOM and well known journalists. Included were alleged documents assembled during the Horner investigation intended to prove his inappropriate behaviour.

Yet the ensuing drama and salacious accusations failed to drum up enough support for Horner to be removed. Journalists were fed with  FIA articles alleging he was bringing F1 into disrepute whilst in fact it was those hiding behind the curtains who were in fact damaging the sport.

It seems as though Christian Horner will now prevail given his enemies have thrown the worst they can at him. Meanwhile Chalerm Yoovidhya and Daranee Yoovidhya who inherited the 51% share from the Thai founder remarkable broke with their tradition of being invisible and arrived to be photographed on the grid with Horner – a clear demonstration of their support for the man who had done more than others to promote their global energy drinks brand.

If the Yoovidhya’s agree to sell the F1 team to Horner and his investors, it will be game over for the Austrian cohorts of Mateschitz Jnr, Minztlaff, Franz Watzlawick (CEO beverage business), and Alexander Kirchmayr (Chief Financial Officer).

Schumacher demands immediate sacking of Horner

 

 

 

Marko strangely silent

Having done their best to discredit Horner, it may well be he who has the last laugh. Despite all the ridiculous talk of Newey being disgusted with his colleague and considering a move to Ferrari, in fact Newey wold benefit hugely in terms of a shareholding should the buyout of Red Bull F1 proceed.

All this explains the ambivalent attitude of Dr. Helmet Marko towards the Horner accusations given their are known to not be on the best terms. Marko given a new contract by the Austrians is hedging his bets and Horner would do well not to settle a score with the 80 year old Austrian should he win out in this civil war.

Marko guarantees Max Verstappen remaining at RBR and clearly the partnership between driver and team will continue winning for years to come.

Alpine sackings

 

 

 

Jos Verstappen interferes

The intrusion from Max’s father Jos was strange at the weekend as he called for Horner to step aside before there team is “torn apart.” We can only assume the Austrians have offered Jos who is no stranger to controversy a role in the Horner free RBR future and his attempt to discredit Christian was a futile effort towards that gain.

Jos is now reportedly not attending this weekend’s Saudi Grand Prix and his future in the Red Bull garage is unclear. Should Horner win out and assume control of RBR Racing he will do so at no cost to himself. The management buy in will include some 40% ‘free’ shareholding for the management and the the money men will receive 60% but no veto for pricing the funds.

Tomorrow is the media day in Saudi and Max Verstappen will face difficult questions over his father’s behaviour. Yet behind the scenes the big news all be whether Horner has got the deal to buy RBR over the line, and the headlines will hail him as hero when a week ago he was pictured as a zero. Christian will then become a true power broker in the Pirhanna club and looks to be one who joined there sport with nothing, but ends up becoming a billionaire.

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