Volkswagen official Wolfgang Durheimer, said his company are considering more motorsport representation of the VW marque in the coming years which could include F1. "Later this year I will put forward proposals to the executive group for (involvement in) not only the racing series that we do already," he said. He has pointed out the lack of the largest car manufacturers involvement in motorsport that takes place in America, the Middle east and Asian markets and F1 may be the best way in to get thier name around. VW already have thier foot in the door in F1 as they are linked commercially with Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso. This is not the first time Volkswagen have been linked to entering F1 and many times it has been denied but it looks to be getting closer!
VW own a lot of car companies and you'd think at least one would fit into F1. Lambo, Audi, the dodgy setup with Porsche... Skoda? Maybe they have seen big companies like Honda and Toyota come in and fail and think F1 is too hard to crack.
Honda and Toyota failed when they decided to run a whole team. Renault are the same but were successful with 2 championships but now have found it is better to be just be a supplier. I think this is the best route for VW.
I don't think Honda or Toyota really failed. Honda would've won the championship in 2009 if the economic climate didn't force them to withdraw, and Toyota were making steady progress before they too were forced to withdraw. VW have been making sounds for years now but have never taken the plunge, and I really can't see them doing so.
Volkswagen came close to getting into F1 recently; and although I can understand the enthusiasm some might have for this, I have serious reservations⦠Essentially, the reason they changed their corporate mind was that they were not as successful as they'd hoped at pulling strings. The idea behind the little V4 turbo engine for F1 was VW's, and I have no doubt they'd have come back if they'd had their way*. I usually have nothing against big manufacturers coming in. For instance, Honda and Mercedes tend to play to the rules without feeling it is their place to change or dictate them, but this is quite different to Ferrari and Renault philosophies. VW is closer to the latter. So, VeeDub in F1?; with a mentality which seeks preference? No thanks, I prefer level playing fields whenever possible⦠- - - o0o - - - *The thought of V4s only, is anathema to me. I would prefer to see regulations which allow for different engine configurations. And if that were the case, I'd be quite happy to see a few V4s - but not the whole damned grid because one manufacturer happens to like them!
I'm all up for some more variety in the sport. I can't help feeling though that the engines would end up being more or less the same as one design would have the most benefits? Having said that, I suppose what one manufacturer would gain in power from having a larger unit, another would gain in something like weight or fuel consumption with a smaller unit? That reminds me, will engine development presumably be back on when the new engines come to the fore or will it be restricted to the off season maybe?
