Mateschitz is not in a hurry to sell Toro Rosso!

Dietrich Mateschitz, now the director of the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams in Formula 1, provided details on his intention to sell the Toro Rosso team. He will sell the small Scuderia to a buyer who, in his opinion, is capable of ensuring a long-term future for the team. He admits, therefore, that he is not in a hurry to find a buyer.

The energy drink giant; Mateschitz, gained full control over Toro Rosso at the end of last year after announcing he had bought Gerhard Berger’s shares, who was then holding half of STR. Red Bull Racing serves as a chassis supplier to its smaller sibling, and Mateschitz has always stated that he could not keep two teams. He is therefore waiting to find a buyer capable of ensuring a prosperous future for his second F1 team.

« We have no pressure on our shoulders. » Commented the Austrian leader to the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. « If we find a buyer capable of proving their ability to keep Toro Rosso alive in the long term, we will sell the team. But for now, there’s no rush. »

With the economic crisis currently affecting the world, Mateschitz sought to reassure. According to him, the Red Bull Motorsport programs are not at all threatened. He notably admits that the cost reductions imposed by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and the FOTA (Association of F1 Teams) have allowed his company to significantly reduce its expenses.

« The cost reduction measures in F1 are useful and appreciated. We will be able to save a lot of money next year thanks to them. In fact, if we add up the two F1 teams, we should save nearly 100 million Euros. »

The financial crisis is hitting Formula 1 hard. Several banks, a sector heavily impacted by the crisis, have announced plans to reduce their spending in F1. This is the case for RBS with Williams or ING with Renault starting in 2010. However, Red Bull and thus Mateschitz do not intend to reduce their investment in F1: « We have a marketing budget that varies from 30 to 40% of our turnover. Even if we reduce it to 25%, we will continue to invest much more than other companies. This is only a hypothesis. »

It is important to note that Red Bull took over the Minardi team from Gerhard Berger’s company when its value was very low. The sale is expected to happen this year after the team had a very promising 2008 championship. The capital gain is significant. Mateschitz remained optimistic but did not provide any details about the team structure. Bourdais is still not officially confirmed at Toro Rosso, but an answer is expected this week.