Recessions are generally not very good for motorsport, but while they do result in moves that are disappointing for the sport, they can also create opportunities as managements change and fans of motorsport can end up in positions of power.So while we have seen Honda and BMW quitting F1, we have also seen other car companies heading into the sport. This has already happened with Lotus, a niche brand which is protected by the Malaysian government-owned firm Proton.
Of the big six automobile companies the three American firms (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are unlikely to get involved. Toyota and Renault have both been very active in F1, while Volkswagen has long avoided any involvement. Its niche brands include Lamborghini and Bugatti but neither is really big enough to warrant an F1 investment.
Of the smaller firms Honda, BMW and Fiat (Ferrari) have all be heavily involved in the spor, while Korea’s Hyundai has several times indicated an interest in F1.
What is perhaps most interesting at the moment is that Volkswagen is undergoing important changes as a result of its merger with Porsche. This will eventually become a VW subsidiary, while Qatar Holding, the “prime vehicle for strategic and direct investments by the State of Qatar” will gain a 17% shareholding in VW as a result of investing $7.3bn in Porsche to help the company reduce its $12.8bn debt, which was the result of its four-year campaign to win control of Volkswagen. As the tables have now turned, there are other changes as well, with Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and his financial director Holger Harter having been replaced in July. The new Porsche boss is Michael Macht, a relative youngster, who has new ideas about how the company should be run and is keen to make his mark. Macht says that he wants to double Porsche sales, which have fallen 24% in the last year. Part of the plan is to produce new models, including a roadster that will be more affordable than the Boxster. This will mean that Porsche will have to sacrifice some of its celebrated exclusivity for new customers. In the circumstances F1 makes sense as it would help shore up the company’s image, while also attracting new customers.
Wiedeking ran Porsche from 1993 and was always opposed to any F1 involvement. He became a leading member of the company management in 1991 when Porsche was in the middle of its humiliating F1 programme with the Footwork F1 team. The 3.5-litre Porsche V12s were uncompetitive and this was later blamed on arrogance as the firm had previously dominated F1 in the 1980s with its TAG-badged turbo engines, which broke all existing records in league with McLaren.
Clearly Porsche is not going to invest in a complete team – which would make no sense at all – but it could become an engine supplier at very reasonable cost, perhaps starting out by badging an existing engine. One cannot imagine Mercedes-Benz, Renault or Ferrari wanting to help Porsche out, but Cosworth would no doubt be happy to discuss such a deal, if the money was right.
Ferdidand Piech, the ultimate boss of VW and Porsche, is a great believer in the power of motorsport and was a racing engineer with the celebrated Porsche sports car teams in the 1960s.
“…badging an existing engine. ”
I don’t think Porsche have ever done this before, they have always designed and built their engines in-house.
I’m not sure about the terms of the Footwork deal but my impression is that Porsche’s motorsport dealings (outside of factory teams that is, eg. Rothmans Porsche 956/962) have always been on the basis that “We supply you with a car and spares for which you pay us.”
Is that about to change?
If Audi are committed to sports-car racing for the next 5 years say, (DTM too), Porsche won’t compete against them surely, so a F1 campaign would make sense, if the money is right.
Very interesting piece. I would love to see Porsche return to F1. McLaren TAG Porsche is still the best car-engine combination in my book.
I have high hopes for the new management at Porsche. Now if only they would axe the Panamera and that Chelsea tractor that they are producing. Diesel Porsches? Absolute blasphemy if you ask me. On the other hand, if selling those hideous things help finance the production of new GT3 RS’, then I guess we will just have to look at the positive side of it.
Besides being good for Porsche, this will also help the Porsche Cup teams. I am currently working for a team, which is trading in its Seat Leon Supercopa Cup-racer for a spot in the Porsche Sports Cup next year, and a Porsche engine in F1 would really help in marketing and securing financing for smaller Porsche teams.
If you really think this could happen, perhaps the BMW F1 engine group would be the logical purchase for them – not Cosworth. I understand that Qadbak didn’t buy it.
I thought I read earlier in the year that the Lotus F1 team was not affiliated with the same “Lotus” founded by Colin Chapman. Is that correct, or did I read the article wrong? With Jaguar now no longer owned by Ford, could we see them back in F1 soon with Cosworth engines? How about the Prodrive-Aston Martin team which was talked about earlier in the year? Porsche is also a good idea, but I thought that Porsche had some kind of long standing objection to ever joining F1 racing. I have to say that I am a little upset about the new teams that have joined who have no manufacturer behind them. You would expect Manufacturer tied teams to have had precedence over teams like Campos. I know you talked about VW/Porsche etc. but what about Lamborghini? Didn’t Ayrton Senna test some kind of turbo Lamborghini engine during his career in F1? I thought it was something like he was going to switch teams, but it didn’t work out I don’t know if anyone can clarify for me, please do. Lambo does make cars with V8s, so they can tie F1 into their marketing.
Sorry Joe, I think this is not going to happen. The German press is very negative about the German manufacturers losing out to Toyota on the hybrid-technology and not leading the development for electronic powered cars (see for example this weeks ‘Spiegel’). This must have been one of many reasons BMW has quit F1. Porsche is having a hard time after losing the family-battle with VW. As you correctly mentioned they have debts of $12.8bn , there’s no way entering F1 fits to this problem. They needed help from outside Germany to solve this farce, something Germans are not too keen on. In addition a significant part of the regional government owns VW, they want to save jobs and invest in green energy. Besides that Piech is an administrator beyond believe, so he probably prefers to see positive numbers over winning cars.
I would find it very disappointing if a company with great engineering traditions like Porsche chose the ‘badge engineering’ option.
Hmm. Ignoring the full F1 effort 50 years ago, Porsche’s motorsport heritage has always been in long distance sportscar racing. I’m sure Piech’s huge investment in 908/917/935/956 etc. has been repaid in brand benefits many times over. However, as Wiedekind decided that all motorsport should show a profit (a curse on all such shortsighted bean counters) they’ve not been to LeMans in the premier class since 1998.
Sure, some enthusiasts may be aware that the ‘TAG’ 1.5l turbo’s was a Porsche engine, but surely they are a small minority.
Right now, I’d have said Porsche’s priority will be a return to a full LMP and GT effort – Aston’s small beer effort has shown the petrol engined cars can be competitive. The risks of failure in F1 must surely be too high, the costs too open ended, the rewards to thin..
SS7
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The aquasition of Porsche by the VW group will bring a complete review of all activities, including motorsport.
I think Porsche will be returned to a role of racing its core products, 911 and similar, in sports car racing.
What I hear is that the amount of euro’s/dollars Audi has been spending would fund a new F1 motor as a stepping stone for a global marketing puch for the whole group. The “global” name for this push? Auto Union.
And the first partner? McLaren just as soon as it can get rid of Mercedes.
Clearly there has been no panic at Woking at the thought of merc going to Brawn, why?I think a team that is prepaired to say no to Mercedes has an option. And people think Ron Denis is gone.
Personally I am a big fan of Porshce (especially vintage Porsche!). However I kind of hope they dont introduce a more affordable road car! It will be good to see them getting a hand in F1 though.
Tony & others: don’t forget that except for the first year and the last two years they have been racing no-one, but themselves at LM. Those victories where cheap once they were successful. Development wasn’t needed till Peugeot came. F1 is everything but cheap, even with budget-caps.
Auto Union. Mmmmm. I’d like to see that name resurrected.
Hmmm! Interesting piece Joe, although I think you’re wide of the mark.
Although Porsche need to increase sales, they need to do it profitably and an involvement in F1 won’t ever be that. And as an engine supplier, won’t bring sufficient marketing kudos, especially if it’s a bought in design which would stick in the craw of the Porsche family as much as the Piech bunch.
Add to that the fact that Porsche don’t need to prove their engineering expertise, that’s part of what you buy with one of their cars right now.
I can’t see VW signing off on a F1 programme for Porsche, but maybe VW could now step up to the F1 plate from the British F3 formula they’re currently dominating.
Or Audi who have obliterated sportscars for several years now. (Although they won’t want to be beaten by Peugeot next year, and despite their grumblings about having to redesign their sportscar front end, so I think they’ll stay where they are, despite being the engine supplier in the new F2.)
@Tony. There’s absolutely no chance of the VW group resurrecting the Auto Union brand to front their motorsport aspirations, nor a tie up with McLaren. There’s simply no marketing advantage, not to mention budget, in that move whatsoever.
But back to Porsche and Macht’s need to increase sales. Instead of a dalliance in F1, how about establishing another one make series similar to the Porsche Cup? Maybe with that below Boxster, based-on-a-VW roadster?
Oddly enough this could help F1 in the U.S. where Porsche has an image to rival Ferrari”s dating all the way back to the 356. But unlike Ferrari, it makes “affordable” cars (if you can afford them) and success in F1 would hardly hurt sales here.
Joe, I have nothing to say on the Porsche F1 engine, issue, other than I, very much, enjoyed reading it. Bascically, my comment regards the overall quality and depth of your writings and the people that reply….I have read blogs on all sort of issues regarding F1 on nearly a dozen other websites and find that, for me, many fall short, not only in reporting, but especally the return comments. They are very often way too emotional or just plane stupid. Obvously you have attracted, on average, a higher quality of followers!!!!!! I,m up at 5:00 in the morning, stateside, and my 1st effort, along with coffee, is to open your website. Keep up the good work!!!!!
If I was Michael Macht I would threaten to fire employees for using term “Formula One” and characters “F” and “1″ closer that two inches to each other. Wiedeking was a bloody beancounter but luckily he save Porsche from current F1 coreographed by Max. I hope they ignore F1 until FIA is steered into an inevitable apocalypsis. If there will be “new” F1 without maxes and todts afterwards, then yes, it’s for Porsche.
Very very interesting – Porsche to F1 soon
Of the big six automobile companies the three American firms (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are unlikely to get involved. Toyota and Renault have both been very active in F1, while Volkswagen has long avoided any involvement. Its niche brands include Lamborghini and Bugatti but neither is really big enough to warrant an F1 investment.
I love the boxster – ill have one soon.
[...] 28, 2009 by joesaward As we speculated back in September, now would be a good time for new manufacturers – notably Volkswagen – to get into [...]
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I don’t know a lot about Formula 1, but I LOVE Porsche. Would be really cool to see them with an entry into F1. Sounds like VW is seriously considering it, although Porsche is only one of three potential brands they’re considering for F1.