Christian Horner has finally admitted that Volkswagen/Audi have shown interest in taking over the Red Bull Formula 1 team, but says no deal has yet been agreed.
Former team owner Eddie Jordan recently claimed that the German car giant – currently the worlds largest – has agreed in principle to take control of the team in 2018.
However such reports are “wide of the mark” according to Horner, but discussions have taken place with the Briton admitting VW has shown interest.
“I think it is great that VW have been showing interest in F1,” he is quoted by Motorsport. “But it is all pure speculation at the moment.
“Even if they were to decide to commit to F1, you are looking at a minimum of two to three years before being able to produce a competitive engine.”
Whilst VW are likely to have bigger issues on their hands at the moment with an emissions scandal in the United States, which some media outlets claim could cost the company upwards of $18 billion (£11.7bn), it’s unlikely to sway their F1 decision.
If a deal does go ahead, Red Bull will likely run Ferrari engines for two to three years, giving VW time to develop its own.
However Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz hinted that unless they got identical Ferrari engines to the works team, they’d have no decision but to pull out of the sport, including sister team Toro Rosso.
