Mclaren: ‘no interest’ in team sale amid Audi talks
Mclaren CEO Zak Brown has ruled out a sale of the team to Audi amid interest from the German manufacturer in a potential takeover.
Audi parent company the Volkswagen Group is in an advanced state of preparations with its efforts to get
Audi and sister marque Porsche to enter F1 from 2026. Audi held talks with Mclaren, and one option that was being evaluated was for a full takeover of the squad that would have resulted in it becoming the official Audi F1 team, potentially leading to the Mclaren name disappearing from F1.
But speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Brown (above right) made it clear that the Mclaren name is here to stay and there will be no sale to Audi.
“Our shareholders are very committed to Mclaren,” said Brown. “We did have conversations with Audi, and we’re not for sale. We’re very committed to our future and we’re doing really well on the track.
“Shareholders are making substantial investments to give our team the resources we need to get back to the front, and commercially we’re doing really well. Morale is really good. We don’t have any interest in selling the racing team. We’re Mclaren F1. That’s what we’re going to remain, and we’re going to remain owning the racing team.”
Brown’s confidence about the future of Mclaren is based on the improved financial situation at the team, which has turned things around since a cash crisis at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
But while a sale to Audi has been dismissed, Brown said that a decision about which engine Mclaren uses from 2026 remained a totally separate topic. “We won’t consider a buyout of Mclaren, but it’s up to Andreas [Seidl, team principal] to decide what power unit he wants in the back of the racing car,” he said.
ANDRETTI BIDS FOR SUPPORT
In other news relating to possible new F1 entries, former Indycar champion Michael Andretti was in Miami for meetings to try to gain more support for his plans to join the grid.
Andretti told Autosport that he held a “positive” meeting with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and was also seen going from team to team trying to gain backing for his plan to enter a new squad from 2024.
Scepticism remains from some about the financial dilution it may cause the rest of the grid, but Andretti is going ahead with plans to start construction on an F1 facility in Indianapolis this summer.