Red Bull's second Formula 1 team, RB, is already valued at over $1 billion, according to CEO Peter Bayer.
Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Bayer revealed that after the passing of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, the future of the team was briefly under review.
"The owners then decided very quickly that this team did indeed have a function," said Bayer.
However, Bayer admitted that the team's rising value made selling an enticing option.
"Formula 1 experienced an incredible upswing during this time," he explained. "Williams was sold for around 150 million euros in 2020. Audi had to pay more than 600m for Sauber. Alpine sold shares that corresponded to a valuation of 900m.
"And we already had offers of over a billion for the team."
Ultimately, the decision was made to retain RB for strategic and financial reasons.
"Keeping the team also makes sense from a business point of view," Bayer noted. "But we were told clearly that we had to be more successful on the track."
To achieve that, RB has increased synergies with Red Bull Racing, including sharing more parts between the two teams. Despite the progress, Bayer admitted RB still requires financial backing from its parent company.
"Does anyone know any sponsors?" he joked. "If you only look at the chassis side, then maybe the top teams are currently earning money - Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren. The others still need support from their owners."
Bayer also confirmed that RB will undergo a name change for the 2025 season to reflect its evolving identity.
"We are now seeing from the fans and the media that 'Racing Bulls' is simply the new identity," he said. "We want to focus on that in future communications."
Meanwhile, Bayer addressed speculation about rising star Franco Colapinto jumping directly into a Red Bull F1 seat next year.
"Our focus is clearly on the Red Bull junior program," he stated. "We are concentrating on Yuki (Tsunoda) and Liam (Lawson) for now. The next in line is Isack Hadjar, who we are already working with a lot and who spends a lot of time in the simulator for us." body check tags ::
