Posted on Tuesday 18 March 2008
Red Bull’s second formula one team Scuderia Toro Rosso is for sale, co-owner and main backer Dietrich Mateschitz has revealed. The 63-year-old billionaire told the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell that his energy drink company plans to approach the 2010 season with only one team.
Mateschitz explained that Toro Rosso, which since the Minardi buyout two years ago has raced effectively as a chassis customer of Red Bull Racing, will not become a full constructor by 2010, as has been requested by the governing FIA.
Mateschitz and fellow shareholder Gerhard Berger have until now always scoffed at regular rumours about their Faenza based outfit being for sale.
“It is no big secret that the Toro Rosso team is on the market,” Mateschitz has now admitted. He said the new regulations for 2010 will make it illegal for “design and construction synergies” to be shared between Red Bull and Toro Rosso. “Therefore, I see the need for us to have only one team,” Mateschitz explained. “We will not sell Toro Rosso during 2008, but (it will be done) before 2010,” he added.
He would not be drawn on the identities of any prospective buyers, but Russian vodka magnate Roustam Tariko - who a few years ago looked into buying a team with Eddie Irvine - was a Toro Rosso guest in Melbourne last weekend. Also at Albert Park was the Faenza based team’s previous owner Paul Stoddart, and South African businessman Tony Teixeira is believed to still be in the market for an F1 team.
Motorsport Aktuell cited a possible sale price of 80 million euros. More information will reportedly be divulged by Toro Rosso on the verge of the Malaysian grand prix this week.
I’ll be the first to admit I know nothing about economics or the markets beyond what is vox populi.
But not since the Google IPO have I seend such an overrated product than Red Bull. An energy drink that has its own F1 team.
Sooner or later someone is going to realize that paying $500 for a share of what is essentially a search engine is stupid and Google’s stock is going to tank. And sooner or later someone is going to realize they’re putting a lot of money into an energy drink and Red Bull is going to go the way of Crystal Pepsi.