Volkswagen is close to buying the Red Bull Formula One team, according to a report on the BBC.
The German car manufacturer and its brand Audi have been linked to a Red Bull deal several times in the past and BBC pundit Eddie Jordan believes it is now close to being finalised. According to the report, Volkswagen would buy the team and build its own engine for the 2018 season, most likely under the Audi brand.
Red Bull is believed to be closing on a Ferrari deal for 2016 after agreeing to split with current engine supplier Renault at the end of this season. Such a deal would allow the team to continue to compete while it waits for the VW-built power unit in 2018.
The finer details of the deal remain unclear, but Red Bull re-issued a quit threat at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix via its motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. However, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz added that a Ferrari deal would offer “a very acceptable solution for the next two or three years” when speaking to Red Bull-owned publication Speedweek.
Earlier this year Audi said it would be open to an F1 project after former VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, who was against the company entering F1, stepped down from the board. The BBC report claims that paved the way for Martin Winterkorn, VW chairman of the board of directors, to negotiate the deal with Mateschitz.
Source: ESPN
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