Red Bull could now sell Racing Bulls for ‘billions’ after BYD and Geely’s F1 paddock meetings

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull could now sell their junior team Racing Bulls, with Chinese automotive giants BYD and Geely considering buying a team as they both advance their efforts to join F1.

Red Bull are in the rare position of owning two Formula 1 teams, having taken over Minardi in 2006 after initially entering F1 in 2005 after buying Jaguar from Ford. Red Bull rebranded Minardi as Toro Rosso in the 2006 season, then AlphaTauri in 2020 and Racing Bulls in 2024.

But Red Bull have frequently changed their plans for their sister entry, with the move to call them AlphaTauri made to promote the Austrian energy drink brand’s clothing line. Red Bull also initially renamed the Faenza natives as Racing Bulls for them to be more than a B-team.

While Racing Bulls have returned to being the F1 finishing school for Red Bull’s rising talents through Isack Hadjar in 2025 and now Arvid Lindblad in 2026, what the future has in store is unclear as the parent Red Bull GmbH company is considering recouping its big investments.

Amid the rumours about BYD, which car brand do you want to see join the F1 grid next?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Red Bull do not rule out selling Racing Bulls amid Geely and BYD’s interest in entering F1

That is according to Autosport Web, which claims it is ‘entirely possible’ that Red Bull could put Racing Bulls on the market for ‘billions of euros’ amid BYD and Geely’s efforts to join F1. Buying one of the 11 current F1 teams is BYD and also Geely’s Plan-B for how they may join.

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Chinese rivals BYD and Geely’s favoured options for joining F1 would be to start a new team, mimicking the approach that General Motors took after entering Cadillac in 2026 as a Ferrari engine customer. Neither BYD nor Geely would enter F1 as an engine constructor right away.

The alternative option would be to secure a title partnership with one of the existing teams, which would simply involve a financial commitment for marketing purposes. But starting an F1 team or buying one of the current 11 teams would be Geely and BYD’s favoured avenues.

Geely Automobile CEO Gui Shengyue also attended the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix to speak to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and other related parties about the brand’s interest in having a team. BYD vice-president Li Ke was also in Shanghai amid a focus on the brand entering F1.

A Geely delegation also attended the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix to meet executives of Alpine, but Luca de Meo was opposed to selling the Enstone crew. De Meo resigned as CEO of the Renault Group last June and his replacement, Francois Provost, may consider selling Alpine.

Previous reports have even claimed that Aston Martin could be an option for BYD to buy, as owner Lawrence Stroll might now be open to selling. But finance expert Adam Williams has exclusively told F1 Oversteer that BYD may be put off by the huge price required to enter F1.

General Motors had to pay the then-10 existing teams a massive £358m anti-dilution fee for its Cadillac brand to secure an entry for the 2026 season. F1 initially set the anti-dilution fee at £150m when it introduced it in 2021, and teams have since pushed to increase it further.