F1 rumors firing for Audi yet again (4th Update)
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler had "ruled out" an entry into F1 after speculation of a partnership with former champions Red Bull arose. Stradler was quoted saying, "Formula 1 needs to solve its problems on its own." The sport, in which Ferrari and Mercedes race, is "seeking to make cars faster and louder again to maintain its allure." Last week Stadler was quoted as saying that F1 "remained an option for Audi." In response to a question about the sport, he said that "in life you must keep things open." REUTERS
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| Helmut Marko – Red Bull stuck with Renault |
04/04/15 UPDATE #3 Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had denied that the team are in talks with Audi over a potential engine deal.
The Austrian squad's cars are currently powered by underperforming Renault units, but Marko insists that Red Bull will see out their contract with the French manufacturer.
The former BRM driver also rubbished talk of a potential sale of the team.
"I answer with the words of Dietrich Mateschitz: there haven't been talks nor are we commencing a winter sale – referring to the three hundred million that is hanging in the air as a sale price," he said.
"We have a contract with Renault until the end of 2016.
"A new engine manufacturer surely will wait to see what is possible within the rules in 2017. This decision of what is possible in 2017 has to be made soon, as every new manufacturer needs lead-time for development."
Marko also made clear that Red Bull will not be considering the production its own engines.
"We are not interested in developing our own power unit," he said, before referring to the four successive world championships (2010-2013) that the Red Bull-Renault combination won.
"We are a chassis developer and a race team, and our priority is making our partnership with Renault a success again.
"Should that not happen, it would be normal to look for alternatives."
Finally, Marko addressed the fact that Red Bull are currently a point behind their junior team, Toro Rosso, in the constructors' standings.
"Toro Rosso should be P5 and Red Bull Racing P3," he said. "With the handicap that we have this year – with the power unit – we could say, ‘that's okay for this season', but not for medium term."
03/11/15
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| In the LeMans WEC series Audi just has to concern itself with getting their clock cleaned by Toyota. In F1 the competition and cost would be much higher |
(GMM) Audi chief Rupert Stadler is no longer clearly denying speculation the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker is preparing to enter formula one.
The regular speculation hit a higher gear in the last six months, after ousted Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali joined Audi and conducted a feasibility study about a F1 project.
"Ah, you want to know what competitive programs Audi will have in the future?" the Italian told F1 insider Leo Turrini this week.
"Come to Ingolstadt and I will tell you."
In Ingolstadt on Tuesday, Audi held its annual press conference, and a reporter did ask the carmaker's chairman Rupert Stadler about formula one.
He answered: "The board has a very strong and precise motor sport strategy.
"We are engaged in DTM, the 24 hours of Le Mans, in customer racing and then there are the sporting commitments of (subsidiaries) Ducati and Lamborghini.
"I will not comment on these rumors about formula one."
Stadler was also interviewed this week by the Swiss newspaper Blick, and asked yet again about the F1 speculation.
"At Le Mans we have found an ideal area for the transfer of technology to the road," he said.
"We also have no shortage of competition, with Porsche, Peugeot, Toyota and now Nissan.
"In this respect," said Stadler, "we have our motor sport program clearly defined for the next few years."
02/20/15 GMM) Dietrich Mateschitz has denied reports he might be looking to sell his F1 team Red Bull to Audi.
On Thursday, stories emerged in the German press suggesting that the Red Bull mogul and billionaire might be looking to go beyond his role as a team owner and buy into the sport's commercial rights.
In the process, he might be offering to sell the multiple title-winning Milton-Keynes based team to Audi, the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker, for EUR 300 million by 2017.
"I don't know anything about it," Austrian Mateschitz insisted to the German-language Speed Week.
"As far as I know, we are having no such 'clearance sale'," he added.
02/19/15 (GMM) Rumors are once again doing the rounds that the Volkswagen Group is eyeing a place on the F1 grid.
But according to Germany's respected Auto Motor und Sport, this time the speculation has a twist — and former world champions Red Bull may be playing a role.
Now, the VW brand strongly linked with formula one is Audi, whose recent recruit, the former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali, was reportedly tasked with conducting a feasibility study into entering the sport.
On Thursday, however, authoritative correspondent Michael Schmidt explained that the latest rumors involve Red Bull's works engine supplier Renault potentially going it alone again in F1.
Tensions between Red Bull and Renault have run high, particularly since the French marque so obviously struggled at the start of the new turbo V6 era.
But there might be more to it even than that.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that Red Bull might actually be looking to scale back its involvement as a mere participant, in order to buy into the commercial rights and "rebuild the premier series according to its own ideas".
Audi might be an interested buyer for Red Bull. Journalist Schmidt claims that Domenicali's feasibility study late last year attracted a "positive" response when he presented it to the board of directors.
The biggest hurdle, however, could be the reportedly poisonous relationship between F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and Ferdinand Piech, his top counterpart at Volkswagen.