Initial negotiations with McLaren came to an early stalemate, complicating Audi’s plans to enter Formula 1 in 2026 with its own engine and a team bearing its name.
The Volkswagen Group has virtually confirmed a first-time Audi F1 project, which is still pending final approval.
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Does Audi compete in Formula One?
How the two brands will work with already active Formula 1 teams is still unclear.
When new rules are adopted in 2026, according to the CEO of Volkswagen, the company’s Porsche and Audi brands will start racing in Formula 1.
Formula 1 is trying to lure new manufacturers, most notably VW, to join its existing pool as it introduces altered engine regulations starting in 2026. The 10 teams on the grid are currently supported by powertrains from Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Red Bull.
Has Volkswagen ever fielded an F1 team?
“However, you can’t make up for it when you join a new team; it takes five to ten years to be at the top. In other words, you can only join if there is a significant regulation change.
“That is already happening and will continue to happen until 2026, when engines will be considerably more heavily electrified, including using synthetic fuels. That indicates that you require the development of a new engine, which will take three to four years.
“That means you can choose to participate in Formula 1 right away or not for another ten years. And our two premium brands are giving that a priority because they believe it to be the right thing to do.”
Volkswagen has previously collaborated with Red Bull in the global rally championship but not in Formula One.
Red Bull, with whom Porsche has been associated for a number of years and who has their own Powertrains Division focusing on the 2026 revisions, is anticipated to collaborate with Porsche.
It’s unclear how Audi is connected. Although both companies have refuted rumors, it was previously believed that they were close to a contract with McLaren. Now, according to the German journal Auto Motor und Sport, Sauber, Williams, and Aston Martin are the most likely candidates.
Who will Audi and Porsche replace in Formula One?
Porsche and Audi, which are owned by Volkswagen, have long been linked to Formula 1. Now that it’s official, it’s clear that the big investment will result in a profit.
Herbert Diess, the CEO of VW, announced on Monday that when technical restrictions pertaining to the that promote energy efficiency take effect, the two luxury brands will join the top international racing league. Diess noted, “You need a regulation change to enter Formula 1; otherwise, a technology window will not open up.
Volkswagen’s actions will probably take one of two forms: first, Porsche will likely collaborate with Oracle Red Bull Racing to take Honda’s place as the engine supplier. The Japanese manufacturer will still provide support for the 2022 season, but the racing team had to launch Red Bull Powertrains, a section dedicated to power units.
Although the supercar manufacturer has found better financial footing thanks to a Saudi equity investment of 50 million ($758 million U.S.), the play with Audi may involve buying McLaren. Approximately 500 million euros ($556.3 million U.S.) is what Audi apparently has to offer for McLaren.
Although there were reportedly “divisions at an event regarding admission into F1 in Wolfsburg, where Volkswagen is based, Diess ultimately remarked, “You just run out of arguments, “for not enlisting.
Why does Audi F1 not exist?
All of the major exotic vehicle manufacturers have competed in F1 or, at the absolute least, provided engines for the sport throughout its history.
The F1 grid has formerly featured vehicles with the names Aston Martin, Maserati, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Lamborghini, Lotus, Jaguar, and Mercedes Benz. You now have a real who’s who of the automotive industry, including the enduring Ferrari and contemporary automotive behemoths Honda, Renault, and Toyota.
Despite its long history and popularity, there are surprisingly few names from the real world of motorsport on the roster of teams competing in F1 today.
The only car brands you can actually buy are Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and, to a lesser extent, McLaren. The two Lotus teams who absurdly compete this year have no connection to the British sports car manufacturer of the same name (owned by Malaysia).
The concentration of ownership of these well-known names is one of the main issues. They used to be powerful, independent businesses, but today they are just branches on the conglomerate tree.
For instance, Fiat is the owner of Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Ferrari. Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, and Lamborghini are all under Porsche control at Volkswagen.
Where are Peugeot or BMW? Why are Japanese firms no longer in a position to compete? Why couldn’t one of the Porsche stable’s brands stand in for the group?
Audi has developed a solution. They have revealed their cards after years of tease teasers about an F1 effort.
Audi believes that F1 is unimportant. Audi’s director of racing, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, defends the harsh decision.
The road has no bearing on this. Audi has long participated in motorsports that our customers care about, like rallying and touring cars, which helped develop the quattro, FSI, and TFSI systems that are now included in our road cars.
This is the reason we rejected F1 in 1999. Instead, we made the decision to compete in the world’s biggest race. We chose Le Mans.
They are combative words. However, the argument has some merit given the number of passenger car manufacturers competing alongside Audi (11 in all) at Le Mans events.
That didn’t prevent Audi from planning an extravagant celebration in Singapore to coincide with the F1 race, though.
As brutal as Dr Ulrich’s assessment is, he gets the Ban Ki Moon award for diplomacy compared to the blunt assessment of F1 offered up by Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller who declared that it was “not interesting and “too expensive.”
Of course, the two erudite men omit to mention that F1 is an absurdly challenging sport to master.
Why risk it all to be an afterthought in a world that is so different from your own when you’re the big fish in Le Mans racing, as is the case with Audi, or when you have many series exclusively dedicated to your brand, as does Porsche?
You know you’re not in Kansas anymore when racing behemoths like Mercedes and Ferrari attend a class from an energy drink manufacturer.
That, though, is the appeal. F1 should be unpredictable and innovative; it shouldn’t only be about racing road cars.
That is not to claim that Formula One is a very inventive sport. The idea that F1 has significantly advanced the automotive industry is widespread, but it doesn’t hold up to thorough examination.
F1 is better at extending existing technologies than it is at inventing new ones, leaving aside traction control and monocoque construction. While improvements in this field certainly have an impact on the passenger market, they don’t often garner the same attention as high-profile innovations like airbags.
The Olympics wouldn’t exist if sport were exclusively about practical applications, though. It wouldn’t be fun to see Usain Bolt shatter world records; we’d rather to watch police officers take out criminals.
Although Audi would be a great addition, F1 is unique and different, and the sport will continue to exist without them. In addition, a number of well-known past participants are already lined up to participate in the 2014 engine upgrades, joining first-timers Volkswagen and General Motors.
F1 is still without a doubt the best series, even though the Le Mans 24-hour may be the world’s best auto race (although the people of Monaco may disagree).
Will Audi ever compete in Formula One?
Porsche and Audi will both compete in Formula 1, according to Herbert Diess, CEO of parent company Volkswagen Group.
Diess announced that the group’s Porsche and Audi brands will both participate in the sport during an online “Dialogue with Diess” question-and-answer session. He said, “You just run out of reasons [not to join F1].
The decision to enter F1 divided the Volkswagen Group board of directors, according to Diess, who also disclosed that the board ultimately decided to approve the move since it will generate more money than it will cost.
Will BMW compete in Formula One?
Numerous automakers will join the fray as the Formula 1 racing championship gains in popularity. In 2026, Audi and Porsche will make their Formula 1 debuts, but BMW has largely remained silent. Frank Van Meel, the head of BMW M, stated in an interview today that the Munich-based automaker has no plans to compete in Formula 1.
“Van Meel was adamant that we had no intentions to compete in Formula 1. The forthcoming LMDh project is where the business continues to concentrate its motorsport efforts. “It’s crucial for us that the [electrification] narrative of transformation is accepted as soon as feasible. The regulations pertaining to electrification are still being discussed in Formula 1. Thus, everything was crystal plain to us. Van Meel suggests moving more quickly into the electrification section.
Focus on LMDh (GTP)
And LMDh offers the ideal chance to evaluate BMW M’s road technology in a racing environment. According to Van Meel, a variation of the V8 plug-in hybrid powerplant recently unveiled by the BMW XM and probably to be utilized in the upcoming BMW M5 G90 would be used in the LMDh vehicles. Therefore, BMW Motorsport will concentrate on Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh), also known as IMSA GTP more recently.
In June 2021, BMW announced that it would create a Le Mans Daytona hybrid prototype and begin racing it in 2023. A few months later, the head of the motorsport division announced that the V12 LMR’s spiritual replacement will not compete in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. The good news is that it’s possible that the LMDh machine will appear at the endurance event the following year.
The ideal year to test the LMDh prototype on France’s renowned Circuit de la Sarthe is 2024. It would mark the victory at Le Mans in 1999 by the V12 LMR’s 25th anniversary. BMW continues to be tight-lipped on the race car, although its hybrid powertrain won’t have more than 500 kilowatts to comply with regulations (670.5 horsepower). V6 combustion engines will be used by Toyota, Peugeot, and Peugeot while a V8 with two turbochargers will be used by Porsche. The larger engine could be used by Audi, and Lamborghini should soon finalize its LMDh entry for 2024.
BMW is renowned for continuously assessing its motorsport ambitions and is not hesitant to immediately sever relations if the racing interest doesn’t correspond with the company aims and goals. So it’s reasonable to suppose that the M CEO will give the storied racing series another look if Formula 1 moves more toward electricity in the future.
Has Lamborghini a Formula One team?
Although the Italian automaker has produced some of the most iconic automobiles in history, Lamborghini hasn’t been the dominant force in Formula 1. Even more people have discovered the sport thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive, but some auto fans have noted Lamborghini’s absence from the grid.
Despite not taking part in the event in 2021 or 2022, the Italian automaker has previous experience. According to F1 Technical, Lamborghini raced a vehicle dubbed the Lambo 291 in the 1990s. Despite possessing a strong V12 engine, its brief career didn’t turn out as expected.
There isn’t an official Formula One team for Lamborghini. However, the Italian automaker did make a foray into the sport in the early 1990s. This was the time the automaker ordered engineers Mario Tolentino and Mauro Forghieri to create a new vehicle based on the automaker’s L3512 naturally aspirated V12. Like all F1 vehicles at the time, the Lambo 291 had a carbon-fiber chassis. The automobile was about 1124 pounds in weight. The only transmission used to provide V12 power to the rear wheels was a six-speed manual.
It’s interesting to note that Lamborghini didn’t want its name on the squad since the company didn’t want to damage its reputation if the team failed. The team’s name is Modena because of this. However, Lamborghini decided to call its vehicle the Lambo 291.
Despite enormous expectations, the Lamborghini F1 car wasn’t a huge success. The 1991 Formula 1 season was the sole time the Lambo 291 was active. The pre-qualifying sessions served as its initial test. To even be eligible for one of the 16 races that year, the car had to perform well in these qualifying sessions.
Sadly, the automobile only competed in races six times. The Lambo 291 finished sixth at the U.S. Grand Prix on its best day. Lamborghini didn’t want to invest in a struggling squad, despite the fact that the company had one respectable finish at the beginning of the season. Despite having great hopes in 1992, Modena never returned to Formula 1.
Even if it happens, Lamborghini rejoining Formula One is doubtful. Just to enter costs $200 million. The current teams each receive an equal share of the money. Budgeting would also be required for the creation of a whole new vehicle and powertrain. Because Lamborghini lacks the same racing heritage as Ferrari, it would be prohibitively pricey.
Why tinker with success when Lamborghini’s Urus SUV is breaking sales records? If anything, Porsche or Audi have a stronger chance of entering Formula 1 because Lamborghini is controlled by the Volkswagen group.
Audi acquiring McLaren?
The team was “absolutely not for sale,” according to Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing, who acknowledged in January that “very preliminary negotiations with Volkswagen had taken place.
Four months later, when questioned once more following the confirmation of the Audi and Porsche entries, Brown reaffirmed that the McLaren name would not be removed from Formula 1.
“We spoke with Audi, but we are not up for sale. We have a strong commitment to the future, and our performance on the track is excellent.
“Shareholders are investing a sizable amount of money to provide our team with the tools they need to reclaim the lead, and commercially, things are going pretty well. The team has excellent morale. The racing team is not something we are interested in selling.
The McLaren F1 team. We will continue to be that, and we will continue to own the racing team.
“We would insist on maintaining ownership of the racing team as part of any cooperation agreement. There isn’t a conversation to be held if somebody wants one that is different from that.
Brown did not rule out the possibility that McLaren may switch to a new engine manufacturer in 2026 in place of their Mercedes engine.
But [team principal] Andreas [Seidl] is free to choose the power unit he wants at the back of the race car, he said. “We won’t explore a buyout of McLaren.