Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer rejects any team assistance for Red Bull in the title fight and explains why only sixth place counts for his team
Racing Bulls will not play a role in the title fight between Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri, as CEO Peter Bayer made clear in an interview with Sky. The background: As Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls could be willing to deliberately influence the World Championship battle in Verstappen’s favor if the racing situation allows it.
Bayer clearly rejects this idea. When asked how closely Racing Bulls will be working with its “big brother” Red Bull at the final race in Abu Dhabi, he replies dryly: “Not at all. Honestly, we have our own concerns. Aston Martin is twelve points behind us.”
Ralf Schumacher couldn’t help but grin and pressed further: “Try again.” But Bayer stuck to his line: “Not at all.” Schumacher put it into perspective, however: “But no one would deliberately crash into another’s car. No one would do that. No one wants to interfere in the World Championship battle—imagine that! You don’t need that like a hole in the head when you crash into the championship leader.“
Bayer recalls the Latifi example – and clearly distances himself
Bayer added, referring to previous controversies such as the Latifi accident in 2021: ”I’m thinking of Latifi. It’s still a topic of discussion, even years later. We are all athletes, competitors, racers. Everyone wants the best for themselves and their team.“
Of course, we are following Max Verstappen’s title fight, Bayer admits: ”Of course we are happy for Max and are keeping our fingers crossed for him.“ But: ”We will definitely not cooperate or do anything in that direction.”
The focus is solely on sixth place
For Racing Bulls, it’s all about their own goals. The team is currently sixth in the constructors’ championship, twelve points ahead of Aston Martin. There’s no chance of moving up any further, as fifth place is already out of reach mathematically. “The only thing that matters to us is securing sixth place,” says Bayer.
“That’s hugely important in terms of sport, finance, and motivation. Nothing else matters to us.” So it’s clear: even though Verstappen is only twelve points behind Norris, there will be no support from Racing Bulls. Abu Dhabi will be decided for Red Bull and McLaren without any outside influence.