AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost has denied that his squad could be sold by Red Bull in the near future.
In recent days, reports have emerged that claim the Red Bull sister squad could be offloaded to another owner.
According to a German report, Red Bull was mulling over keeping the team under its umbrella while moving it to the UK from Italy, or selling it altogether.
However, the team opted to release a statement on Wednesday, on the eve of the new F1 season, to assert that it will retain Red Bull’s support going forward.
“I had some very good meetings with Oliver Mintzlaff [Red Bull’s CEO of Corporate Projects and New Investments], who confirmed that the shareholders will not sell Scuderia AlphaTauri, and that Red Bull will continue supporting the team in the future,” said Tost.
“All these rumours have no foundation, and the team has to remain focused for the start of the season to perform better than last year.”
Rumours of AlphaTauri’s sale were circulating even prior to the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz last year.
It has existed in its current form since 2006, with Red Bull purchasing the Minardi team with the aim of delivering junior drivers their F1 debuts and fashioning them into competitors for the front-running team.
It has found success through the programme, with Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo among those who raced for the sister squad prior to joining Red Bull.
F1 is currently undergoing a boom in popularity which has raised the value of teams on the grid, while other parties have expressed interest in joining the field.
However, throughout its existence, AlphaTauri has been a midfield competitor at best and fell to ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship last year.
In 2021, Red Bull signed Sergio Perez to partner Max Verstappen, moving away from its tradition of promoting from its sister squad following the failed stints of Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon.
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