Recently, speculation has become rife over the future of AlphaTauri’s presence within Formula 1. Under the ownership of Red Bull, the possibility of the sale of their ‘sister team’ has caused major rumour over who could buy their entry into F1. However, despite some outlets listing Indian motorsport group Mumbai Falcons as an interested party, their CEO, Moid Tungekar, exclusively told Feeder Series that this is not true.

By Tyler Foster

“That AlphaTauri news, it’s not something that’s happening,” Tungekar explained. “That was just a hearsay rumour type situation that was going on. When I read about AlphaTauri, I was like, really, am I speaking to someone?”

Alongside Mumbai Falcons, the likes of Andretti Autosport, Honda, Porsche and Hitech have also been implicated as potential candidates for buying AlphaTauri. For Tungekar, reading these stories was just as much of a surprise to him as it was to fans.

When we saw it, we were shocked and gobsmacked

Tungekar on his reaction to the rumours that he was interested in buying the AlphaTauri F1 team

“No idea [where the rumour came from]. When we saw it, we were shocked and gobsmacked, and we were like, when the hell did that come out? And then the worst part was they took my name, as if I had said something like that. 

“Then I tried hunting around, but I guess it was just a bunch of fans that stirred this up and then it came into conjuncture and just snowballed out of place.”

F2 and F3 interest

While the Mumbai Falcons group have certainly created lofty ambitions of their own since their formation in November 2019, this does not currently extend to owning an F1 team. However, Tungekar did admit that the Indian outfit “had been exploring a couple of options” to enter both Formula 2 and Formula 3 within the last few months. 

“We lost two options. One, the valuation was just not right. And the second option, we were just beat by four days by PHM. So, I was in Prague, and we were having discussions and all the rest, but I think [Antonín Charouz] just decided that he wanted to sign with these guys on the day. 

“In a bit of a rush, he just went ahead and he told me two days later while I was sitting in a hotel room in Prague. We gave him a counter-offer then and there itself, but it wasn’t right. PHM won that fair and square. It wasn’t really worth rocking the boat even further.”

Yet to break into the European market, Tungekar made it clear to Feeder Series that the aspirations of Mumbai Falcons will see them enter new series in the near future. 

“Absolutely, I definitely want to see about increasing the ladder. We do want to have a complete comprehensive ladder in place. I don’t think there would be an opportunity that would come up, this particular year, because it’s the start of the season. 

We do want to have a complete comprehensive ladder in place

Tungekar on Mumbai Falcons’ aspirations to enter new series in the near future

“Plus, with the new F1 Academy offering that Bruno Michel has come out with, it’s even better for teams and their businesses. You never know. If something does pop up, I’m sure we’d love to evaluate and take a look at it.

“There is also a couple of other championships that are being branded about. I think there’s one new European championship, Eurocup-3, and another championship towards the end of the year that’s being talked about. There is something in the works in the world of promoters.”

Header image credit: FRMEC