Audi to buy Red Bull team (6th 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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| Dietrich Mateschitz trying sell Red Bull team |
05/11/15 Former Toro Rosso owner and friend of Red Bull Owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Gerhard Berger, "confirmed that Audi was in discussions to take over Infiniti Red Bull Racing," according to Henning Eberhardt of SPONSORs. Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, "has been rumored to enter F1 for some time."
Red Bull Motorsports Dir Helmut Marko said that Red Bull was "interested in doing a deal that would see Audi enter F1." Marko: "If we don't have a competitive engine in the near future, then either Audi is coming or we are out." But he denied that Red Bull had "already been in formal talks with the German company."
He said, "There are so many rumors. Officially there was no request or talks. The VW Group first has to sort out who will be the new chief of support, who will run the brand of VW, and when they have sorted all these things maybe then they can think about what they are doing in motorsport. I was on the phone but not to the people you think" BBC.
AUTO EXPRESS' Steve Fowler reported Audi Chair Rupert Stadler said that the likelihood of Audi entering F1 "looks stronger than ever." When asked to "confirm yes or no, whether Audi would be competing in F1 within the next five years," Stadler smiled, "shrugged his shoulders and paused" before saying, "I can't answer that." When pressed that it "sounded more like a yes than a no," he continued, "It's something we're looking at, but then we're always looking at it and many other things. But I can't say yes or no."
Rumors have "started to build again following comments made to an Italian newspaper" by former Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. Montezemolo reportedly said that Mateschitz is "trying to lure Audi into Formula One to replace Red Bull's current engine supplier Renault." Stadler is "also keeping a close eye on Formula E and hinted that the company may increase its involvement in the fledgling championship."
The Audi Sport ABT team is currently second in the standings with driver Lucas di Grassi leading the drivers' championship having just extended his contract with the German team. Insiders at Audi and its parent, the VW Group, have "previously revealed that Audi is set to abandon" both the German Touring Car Championship (the DTM) and the Le Mans 24 Hour race in favor of the world's "top open-wheel formula." AUTO EXPRESS
05/08/15 (GMM) Audi appears to have taken a step closer to formula one.
Mere days ago, constant rumors that the Volkswagen brand is considering a grand prix foray were given a boost by former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.
"A mutual friend told me that (Red Bull owner Dietrich) Mateschitz is thinking of selling and is trying to convince Audi to come in," said the Italian.
Auto Express, a British weekly, went straight to Audi chairman Rupert Stadler to ask him for a "yes or no" answer about the pressing F1 question.
"I can't answer that," he said.
Pressed harder, Stadler admitted: "It's something we're looking at, but then we're always looking at it and many other things."
05/06/15
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| Ferdinand Piech |
Volkswagen faced a crunch meeting in Germany Tuesday that could put it on a path to Formula 1 within the next few years.
The annual General Assembly and AGM for the VW Group shareholders convenes in Hannover on the back of the shock recent resignation of chairman Dr. Ferdinand Piech.
The meeting will include the election of members to the special advisory board of VW and the setting in motion of Piech's replacement.
It is likely that a combustible corporate atmosphere will precede any decisions made, after Piech was forced to resign from the board as chairman last month after a plot to oust VW CEO Martin Winterkorn was discovered.
Piech will not attend the AGM, and it will instead be chaired by automotive trade union leader Berthold Huber, who is the ex-head of the IG Metal union organization.
Jockeying for position to be the new Chairman will be Winterkorn; Porsche CEO Matthias Muller who is also Head of VW Technical Development; Wolfgang Durheimer CEO of Bentley and Bugatti, and Audi’s Rupert Stadler.
Motorsport.com can reveal that Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, who was set to be elected to the Supervisory Board has withdrawn his candidature and instead Mr. Akbhar Al Baker, Minister of State and Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways is the replacement candidate.
More open to F1
Rumors of VW entering F1 with its Audi brand have been around for years, but the car manufacturer has long resisted it.
Motorsport.com understands that Dr Piech and other senior members of the VW Special Advisory committee were counselled by motorsport industry advisors not to enter F1 until the future constitution and governance of its commercial affairs were made clear.
However, the leading candidates are understood to be more open to the idea of VW launching one of its brands in to F1 in the next five years.
Factions within the company, including at least two Super Advisory Board Members who are known to be motorsport supporters, are especially keen for the company to have one of its brands in F1 by 2020 at the latest, so it can challenge rivals Mercedes on both a marketing and technical level.
But amid the recent company turmoil, it is likely that a F1 evaluation study is unlikely to take priority right now.
Winterkorn, as chairman of the whole group, has more pressing matters to deal when he addresses shareholders in Hannover. The most obvious is the underwhelming incomes of the VW brand itself.
The potential for VW finally taking the plunge in to F1 has increased but the speed in which it is likely to do so will be familiarly slow.
Last Thursday two replacements for Piech (and his wife Ursula who also resigned last month) on the Supervisory Board were announced. These were Julia Kuhn-Piech and Louise Kiesling, who are both nieces of Dr Ferdinand Piech. Motorsport.com
04/27/15 People are getting a little ahead of themselves about Volkswagen and Formula 1. Just because Ferdinand Piech has resigned does not mean that the company will instantly be planning an F1 program next week. The top management may have similar reservations to Piech about the sport, but whatever the case, it will take time before things begin to move and the first step in that process is to decide who will take over as head of the supervisory board. That decision may mean that there is a need for a new chairman of the management board.
It seems that Piech was trying to lobby for Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller to replace Martin Winterkorn in this job and that this did not go down well with the board members and they held a second meeting and then informed Piech that he must either stand down or face being fired by the company. No-one is admitting that this is what happened, but that would make sense as the resignation was not expected at all.
It remains to be seen what the supervisory board now does with regard to the role of chairman. Winterkorn (67) is one possibility as he seems to be have solid support from the board, but there is talk too of Ulrich Hackenberg (65), the company’s head of technical development, who could be a compromise candidate.
Given that Piech was 78, age does not appear to be a problem for the role of supervisory chairman. The chairmanship of the management board may stay with Winterkorn, but there are plenty of others who are considered possible for the job, including Muller (61), Andreas Renschler (56), the head of VW commercial vehicles, Wolfgang Dürheimer (56), the boss of Bentley and Bugatti, and Rupert Stadler (51), the man in charge of Audi.
There is also 50-year-old Stephan Winkelmann, head of Lamborghini, although he has been with the Italian firm for 10 years and may not be deemed to have sufficient experience for the bigger job. Another man who may play a role in the years ahead is Herbert Diess (58) who is joining as head of the Volkswagen brand in July. He comes from BMW. Before any big decisions are made about the sport the firm must go through a number of other decision-making processes, so don’t expect too much too soon.
In 2012 Durheimer publicly proposed an F1 program. Another man who may be pushing for the idea is Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche’s head of research and development, who was involved in F1 with BMW in the glory years of the early 1980s and then was involved with Porsche’s ill-fated V12 in the early 1990s. He later became head of motorsport at Opel before returning to VW in 2001. Joe Saward
04/27/15 (GMM) Once again, the Volkswagen-to-F1 rumors are gathering speed.
At the Bahrain grand prix, Bernie Ecclestone was told of rumors that as long as he is chief executive, Volkswagen Group chairman Ferdinand Piech was refusing to consider bringing a brand like Audi into formula one.
"Nobody has told me that," the F1 supremo responded, "but if that's the case, I'll leave. I'd be happy to step down immediately.
"I'm absolutely serious," the 84-year-old insisted.
But now, Ecclestone's withdrawal will no longer be an obstacle, because after an internal power struggle at the German car-making giant, Piech has stepped down.
"The mutual trust that is needed for successful cooperation no longer exists," Volkswagen's supervisory board said in a statement.
Interestingly, Ecclestone made the comments in Bahrain to his long-time colleague and friend Eddie Jordan, now a broadcaster for British television BBC.
It is believed Martin Winterkorn could now succeed Piech as VW chairman.
Earlier, Jordan said Winterkorn "has always believed that F1 is a great platform for the group's brands. I am told he privately believes VAG (Volkswagen AG) should be a part of F1."
04/26/15 The resignation of Volkswagen Chair Ferdinand Piech "has revived talk of the company entering F1," according to PIT PASS. For as long as anyone can remember, the Volkswagen Group "has been linked with F1."
However, for much of this time, "the man standing in the way of such a move was Piech, who, apart from not seeing what would ultimately be gained by entering the sport, made no secret of his intense dislike" of F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone.
On Saturday, Piech resigned as chairman of the Volkswagen Group "after losing out in a bitter boardroom battle" with CEO Martin Winterkorn, which even saw his cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, vote against him.
With Piech gone, there "is already intense speculation that this might clear the way for Volkswagen to reappraise its stance on F1."
Already enjoying a "strong sport presence" with Audi and Porsche in WEC, Bentley and Lamborghini in GT Racing and VW itself in WRC, F3 and Rallycross, F1 (or IndyCar) "would seem the obvious next move." PIT PASS [Editor's Note: They could do IndyCar for 1/10th the cost and know they could win straight away. In F1 they will look like losers for years.]