Red Bull Racing has scheduled a significant meeting with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), which will take place next weekend, during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. The main discussion will address the future and broad involvement of Red Bull in various forms of motor sport, with the presence of high-ranking executives from the company.
This dialogue represents the continuation of agendas debated between the entities the previous month, in a previous meeting held in the city of Paris. Although Formula 1 is the flagship of the conglomerate’s sporting initiatives, Red Bull maintains a substantial presence in other competitions organized under the auspices of the FIA.
For Red Bull GmbH, parent company of the Formula 1 team, Oliver Mintzlaff and Mark Mateschitz will be present. Mintzlaff, as CEO of corporate projects, is responsible for managing operations in Formula 1, encompassing Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. Mateschitz, heir to founder Dietrich Mateschitz, holds a 49% stake in the company’s share capital.
Red Bull’s influence extends far beyond Formula 1, covering several other aspects of motorsport. The company, for example, was the commercial partner of the World Rally Championship (WRC) for ten years and, despite recent changes to its ownership structure, remains actively involved in the European Rallycross Championship (Euro RX), as well as other categories under the organization of the FIA, showing “why this matters” to the brand’s global strategy.
The agenda at Silverstone is a direct consequence of the meeting that took place between Mintzlaff and Ben Sulayem in June, in the French capital. Leaders are expected to build on previous deliberations, focusing on the breadth of Red Bull’s engagement in the various forms of motorsport.
Another crucial point to be debated is the issue related to ADUO (Power Unit Assessment and Development). Information indicates that the Red Bull team expressed surprise when notified that its power unit had been classified as the most powerful in terms of internal combustion engine. At the same time, Mercedes HPP, Audi, Ferrari and Honda would have received permissions to carry out updates, which directly impacts engine performance parity in the category.
Representatives from Red Bull Racing have already been in multiple meetings with FIA technical staff in recent weeks to discuss this specific issue, and these dialogues are scheduled to continue even after the Silverstone event. The FIA has not yet published the final official result on the ADUO, although preliminary news from the Monaco GP suggested that Red Bull Powertrains-Ford was the manufacturer of the highest performing combustion engine power unit.
Despite the relevance of the technical aspects present on the agenda, the main focus of the meeting between Oliver Mintzlaff, Mark Mateschitz and Mohammed Ben Sulayem remains the analysis of Red Bull’s comprehensive participation in the different forms of motorsport under the FIA’s jurisdiction and the strategic planning for the future of this involvement.
