Photo: Audi
Recently, the VW Group announced that both Audi and Porsche could enter Formula 1, pending final confirmation of upcoming 2026 power unit regulations. While existing manufacturers welcome new competition, they’re also concerned about newcomers possibly getting preferential treatment, among other issues.
The two VW Group brands are expected to run independent projects, with Porsche reportedly teaming up with Red Bull Powertrains, and Audi conducting its business from the Audi Sport base in Germany. Still, rivals can’t help but worry about possible collaborations between the two German brands, reports Motorsport.
There’s also a question mark regarding any potential carryover of intellectual property from Honda to Porsche via Red Bull, which is a valid point of concern.
“I think it’s nice, I think it’s good for the sport,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, during an interview with Motorsport, while discussing the arrival of the VW brands. “But we need to really pay attention to a couple of things, actually. We need to check and make sure that two separate teams are two separate teams.”
“We need to make sure that if they’re entering the arena as teams, are they works teams, is it coming from Porsche, from Audi, is it coming from Red Bull or Honda? Do they have specific treatment or not? So basically, is the sport going to be better off, or is it going to be worse off?”
Rossi went on to add that F1 suddenly favoring new entrants wouldn’t be fair to the other teams, especially teams such as Alpine, which has “invested literally billions over the past 20 years, 40 years, for Renault in PUs [power units].”
“It’s not for someone to come in and just like get the lion’s share just because they roll out the red carpet. Because it’s basically disrupting our business model and putting a lot of jobs at risk,” concluded the Alpine boss.
There’s also a question mark regarding any potential carryover of intellectual property from Honda to Porsche via Red Bull, which is a valid point of concern.
“I think it’s nice, I think it’s good for the sport,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, during an interview with Motorsport, while discussing the arrival of the VW brands. “But we need to really pay attention to a couple of things, actually. We need to check and make sure that two separate teams are two separate teams.”
“We need to make sure that if they’re entering the arena as teams, are they works teams, is it coming from Porsche, from Audi, is it coming from Red Bull or Honda? Do they have specific treatment or not? So basically, is the sport going to be better off, or is it going to be worse off?”
Rossi went on to add that F1 suddenly favoring new entrants wouldn’t be fair to the other teams, especially teams such as Alpine, which has “invested literally billions over the past 20 years, 40 years, for Renault in PUs [power units].”
“It’s not for someone to come in and just like get the lion’s share just because they roll out the red carpet. Because it’s basically disrupting our business model and putting a lot of jobs at risk,” concluded the Alpine boss.
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