Gerhard Berger buys into Toro Rosso

The Austrian, who has not been involved in the sport since he left his position as BMW Motorsport Director in 2003, will also act in an advisory capacity for Red Bull's entire F1 operation.

The deal, which was announced by the energy drinks company today, sees Berger take control of 50 percent of Toro Rosso's shares while Red Bull purchases 50 percent of Berger's shipping company to form a joint operation.

Berger's involvement with Red Bull comes after a long-standing friendship with company boss and fellow Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz, who dismissed late last year that Berger was planning to be involved in his team.

Berger said today: "Three birds with one stone! The involvement of a company like Red Bull is an important milestone for the Berger shipping company and for its successful future development.

"On the other hand, I am aware that my Formula One know-how is very much valued by Red Bull in general and by the Italian Toro Rosso team in particular.

"Last but not least, I'm looking forward to not only continuing to have a great time with Dietrich Mateschitz, but also to being able to implement serious and visionary business developments together in the future."

Mateschitz added: "I have known and admired Gerhard for twenty years. 18 years ago, he was the first top athlete to drink Red Bull and therefore to make a significant contribution to our growth and to the brand in Austria.

"I am particularly pleased that we will now be able to take advantage of the synergies that undoubtedly exist between us also for joint business activities."

The announcement of Berger's involvement with Scuderia Toro Rosso comes on the same day that the team's new STR01 ran for the first time at Jerez.

Berger told autosport.com last October that he turned down the option of running Toro Rosso because he was not interested in it being a pure marketing exercise.

"My idea for the team was to be successful, and make some money, whereas Red Bull's big motivation is marketing," he said last year. "I've no problem with that, but I didn't want to be involved on that basis."