Photo: Renault DP World F1 Team
It looks like the introduction of hybrid powertrains to Formula One was not enough to make the competition appealing for those brands who want to use their motorsport involvement to highlight their EV technological advancements.
It was 2014 when the biggest recent change in Formula One happened, one that was supposed to make the sport seem cleaner but instead drove even more of the fans away. The already controversial 2.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 engines used in the previous season were replaced by 1.8-liter turbocharged V6 "power units", a term employed to describe the intricate mesh between internal combustion-specific components and the new energy recovery systems and what-not that now sat behind the driver.
If you think about it, the FIA's decision made sense. If you agree that motorsport is used as an extreme test bed for technologies that will ultimately make it into road-going cars, this was just Formula One acknowledging the fact the industry was changing and doing its best to adapt without turning into Formula E.
Well, this was also the time when Infiniti got actively involved after previously only acting as a sponsor for Red Bull Racing. The Japanese company took advantage of its affiliation with Renault, so in 2016 it became a technical partner of Renault DP World F1 Team, working on the development of the Energy Recovery System (ERS), an integral part of that V6 "power unit."
Throughout its involvement with the French team, Infiniti has been part of 100 Formula 1 Grands Prix, accumulating three podium finishes and a total of 459 championship points. More importantly for us, the company's presence in the world's most renowned motorsport series also yielded the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S, a coupe powered by a 3.0-liter V6 with 563 hp thanks to some F1-inspired trickery.
Well, after a ten-year-long involvement with Formula One, Infiniti is now announcing its withdrawal at the end of this year. According to the statement released by the company, it will "focus its efforts and resources on becoming a top challenger brand in the premium segment, concentrating on its most active markets (China and North America) and on its goal to create unique solutions for electrified performance powertrains."
Infiniti leaving isn't exactly a high-profile loss for the competition, but it could signal the start of other, more important departures as Formula One is beginning to lose relevance. It'll be interesting to see how the series will manage to adapt or, if not, how long it will keep on surviving.
If you think about it, the FIA's decision made sense. If you agree that motorsport is used as an extreme test bed for technologies that will ultimately make it into road-going cars, this was just Formula One acknowledging the fact the industry was changing and doing its best to adapt without turning into Formula E.
Well, this was also the time when Infiniti got actively involved after previously only acting as a sponsor for Red Bull Racing. The Japanese company took advantage of its affiliation with Renault, so in 2016 it became a technical partner of Renault DP World F1 Team, working on the development of the Energy Recovery System (ERS), an integral part of that V6 "power unit."
Throughout its involvement with the French team, Infiniti has been part of 100 Formula 1 Grands Prix, accumulating three podium finishes and a total of 459 championship points. More importantly for us, the company's presence in the world's most renowned motorsport series also yielded the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S, a coupe powered by a 3.0-liter V6 with 563 hp thanks to some F1-inspired trickery.
Well, after a ten-year-long involvement with Formula One, Infiniti is now announcing its withdrawal at the end of this year. According to the statement released by the company, it will "focus its efforts and resources on becoming a top challenger brand in the premium segment, concentrating on its most active markets (China and North America) and on its goal to create unique solutions for electrified performance powertrains."
Infiniti leaving isn't exactly a high-profile loss for the competition, but it could signal the start of other, more important departures as Formula One is beginning to lose relevance. It'll be interesting to see how the series will manage to adapt or, if not, how long it will keep on surviving.
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