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Volkswagen, Honda and Hyundai Tipped for F1 Entry

Bernie Ecclestone might not be very keen on implementing the FIA-desired 1.6 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engines in Formula 1 in 2013, but the move might help his series in the long run.

While some threaten to leave the series if these engines will make the championship rules 2 years from now – read here Ferrari – other important carmakers out there will stay in line to join in. And, according to Jean-Francois Caubet, managing director of F1 engine supplier Renault Sport F1, “Volkswagen, Honda and Hyundai” are all eyeing an F1 programme once the new engine rules kick in.

I don't think they will come in the first year, because that would be difficult for a car manufacturer,” argued Caubet, according to motorsport-total.com. “Maybe later.”

Honda has been one of the carmakers to leave the series a few years back, when the world economic crisis started to take its toll among world-class car manufacturers in 2008. After a few disappointing campaign in the series, the Japanese officials decided to pull the plug on its F1 operations, agreeing to a management buyout to their former team boss Ross Brawn.

Volkswagen has recently been linked with a foray into F1, with their motorsport representative Hans Joachim-Stuck admitting that the series looks much more attractive with the introduction of the new engine formula in 2013. However, in a recent interview with Reuters, the brand's head of technical development Ulrich Hackenberg denied such interest in the near future.

On the other hand, Ecclestone has been very vocal in recent weeks against the turbocharged engine to replace the current 2.4-litre V8s, as he feels the fans and sponsors alike will not enjoy the new sound of the series.

FIA president Jean Todt addressed those comments prior to the Australian Grand Prix, arguing that the most important thing in the future of the series is to become greener and embrace more environmentally-friendly technologies, rather than focus on aspects such as sound.
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