Mateschtiz: “Toro Rosso is not for sale”
Dietrich Mateschitz, the head of Red Bull, stated in the German press that the Toro Rosso team was not for sale contrary to the rumors, circulating for several weeks already, suggesting otherwise.
A rumor of a takeover of the Toro Rosso team quickly spread at the beginning of September with the arrival of a new sponsor – Cepsa – at the Italian Grand Prix. Cepsa is a Spanish oil company owned by the investment fund IPIC, which also owns Falcon Private Bank – also a sponsor of Toro Rosso. This proximity between the companies and an investment fund led to a theory about a possible acquisition of the team by IPIC.
But Dietrich Mateschitz, boss of the Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso teams, denied any acquisition of the Italian team by IPIC, stating that the team was not for sale. He did, however, indicate that Red Bull was not opposed to the arrival of new investors, but not to acquire a majority stake in the team.
“D) Toro Rosso is not for sale but we do not rule out partnerships if the partner is right »,” Mateschitz told the German newspaper Financial Times.
And while the Austrian company has decided to withdraw from NASCAR, as beverage sales to the “18-34 years old” demographic – the main audience of this championship – are declining in the American market, it is not expected to do the same for Formula 1, which offers a much more significant marketing tool due to its global reach, and because it is currently the team to beat, notably thanks to the formidable Newey-Vettel duo.
