To hear about the F1 merger of the two manufacturers for months, the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group met on Thursday in its headquarters in Wolfsburg, where, of course, F1 projects were also discussed. According to German press reports, the company’s board of directors it has also essentially approved the merger of Audi and Porsche Formula One.
“The boards and supervisory boards of Volkswagen AG, Porsche AG and Audi AG have confirmed plans for the group’s two brands to potentially enter Formula One. Audi and Porsche will provide further details later, ”the group said in a statement to Auto Motor und Sport.
However, a final decision has not yet been made, as they will wait until it is accurate what will the F1 engine rules look like from 2026 onwards.
“The decision to join has not yet been made, we are in the final phase of the evaluation. The new rules are not yet available for 2026 or beyond. With these, far-reaching changes are planned for a more sustainable sport, which is a precondition for Audi’s eventual entry. ”
So today’s meeting has produced fundamentally positive results for Audi and Porsche you can actively plan your F1 connectionhowever, the final decision or formal notification will be made only after all contracts have been signed.
The engine rules for 2026 are expected to be approved by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in June, but it is possible that all of this will be postponed to October due to a number of unresolved issues.
Incidentally, the news so far has been that Audi is buying itself into McLaren, but Auto Motor und Sport has now reported that the most likely scenario is that the German manufacturer acquires Saubert. The parties are not unknown to each other, as Audi developed its Le Mans car at the Swiss headquarters in Hinwili, and the German company’s then chief technology officer, Jan Monchaux, is currently working in the same position at Sauber.
In the paddock, however, the news is also about that Aston Martin has reportedly contacted Audi in connection with a possible collaboration, owner Lawrence Stroll has decided to start his own engine in F1. The idea of building an engine division similar to Red Bull was discarded, as fewer and fewer renowned engineers were on the market after the Red Bull it recently lured about 50 employees from Mercedes. Stroll ‘s plans also included shopping for Mercedes to his engine division in Brixworth, CEO Ola Källenius reportedly leaned towards the idea, but in the end the deal did not materialize.
Porsche, meanwhile, is in talks with Red Bull Racing, but they do not want to take over a complete team, they are just trying to form a partnership. In 2018, the parties were already close to cooperating. It is envisaged that Red Bull Powertrains would manufacture the internal combustion engine, while Porsche would manufacture the related electrical components.
In contrast, Audi would come with a completely self-developed powerplant that would essentially build on the engine that Porsche had already tested on the test bench in 2018 before the F1 project was discarded at the last minute.
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