(© Ben Johnston 2015)
Volkswagen could enter Formula One in the near future
after their Chairman Dr Ferdinand K Piech, the man opposed to the company
entering F1 has resigned with immediate effect following a power struggle with his CEO, opening the door for the company
to potentially launch a bid to race in Formula One.
The German car giant who own brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini
and Audi are already involved in Formula One as they sponsor Scuderia Toro
Rosso however whenever the idea of entering Formula One as a manufacturer or
power unit supplier under the Audi, Porsche or Lamborghini banner came up it
was rejected by Piech.
Piech who is not a fan of Formula One Supremo Bernie
Ecclestone had stated that as long as Mr Ecclestone is involved with the sport
than the VW Group would not be. However now that Dr Piech has resigned and been
replaced temporarily by Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber.
The news means that Formula One could potentially see VW
enter Formula One with the Audi brand as the company already have two of their
main brands Audi and Porsche in the World Endurance Championship and it is
unlikely that Porsche would move from WEC to F1 as they have only just entered
the championship, Audi on the other hand have been extremely successful in the
Endurance Championship with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen.
It may decide to set up a team in Formula One in the near
future as the sport has now moved to the smaller 1.6 litre V6 turbo charged
power units. Audi could potentially buy an existing team or indeed become a
power unit supplier.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens but it
would be great if we saw another car manufacturer in Formula One and
particularly VW as they have seen their main rivals Mercedes achieve so much
success in the sport in recent years.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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