Currently reading: Audi rules out F1 entry
Motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich believes F1 to be irrelevant to Audi

Audi has rejected speculation that its parent company Volkswagen Group could use its name as part of its planned entry into Formula One in 2013.

VW's motorsport boss Kris Nissen has long talked about VW entering the sport, possibly as an engine supplier, and has said its entry could be branded as Porsche, Audi or VW itself.

However, Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi Motorsport, told a German news agency that the firm had no intention of entering F1.

"We believe F1 and Audi do not fit so long as the technology has no relevance to the development of our production cars," he said.

Ullrich claims that Le Mans and DTM are both more relevant to Audi's customers and are also far more cost-effective. A budget for a full season in the DTM is estimated to be around one fifth of that required to be competitive in F1.

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disco.stu 1 July 2010

Re: Audi rules out F1 entry

TheWizardWeb wrote:
If BMW had stayed in F1, I think Audi would have entered, but as F1 seems to be going KERS/Hybrid rather than diesel, I'm thinking this would suit Porsche. With the hybrid 918 coming out, it'd be a good opportunity.

Who really knows? Maybe VAG haven't made up their minds. There was recent rumour that Porsche was returning to LMP1 racing at Le Mans to go head to head with Audi.

Lamborghini would be good - go up against Ferrari, and given that the calendar now suits their customer base, maybe not a silly idea.

TheWizardWeb 1 July 2010

Re: Audi rules out F1 entry

The next engine regs for F1 haven't been decided yet, but it would surprise me if they included diesel. Bernie has always said an F1 car should sound like an F1 car.

If BMW had stayed in F1, I think Audi would have entered, but as F1 seems to be going KERS/Hybrid rather than diesel, I'm thinking this would suit Porsche. With the hybrid 918 coming out, it'd be a good opportunity. That said, Wolfgang Ulrich says the F1 technology doesn't influence road cars, but if the regs changed so it did....

kevin2010 1 July 2010

Re: Audi rules out F1 entry

Diesel F1 cars???? Look how well the R10 has done for reliability in Le Mans. Sounds insane but think about it!