Why and how Audi and Porsche are entering F1
“Audi actually has the better case than Porsche for F1”
Audi and Porsche have crafted titanic legacies in motorsport. The game-changing Quattro established 40 years ago that surefooted four-wheel drive was fundamental for World Rally Championship success. Porsche has mastered the Le Mans 24 Hours with its record 19 victories. That run was started by the 917, arguably the greatest competition car of all time, which partially provided the template around which the Group C regulations – a hallowed era of sportscar racing that Porsche also dominated thanks to the 956/962 – were devised.
But for neither manufacturer did the light shine quite so brightly with their forays into grand prix racing. Bernd Rosemeyer delivered Audi precursor Auto Union, with its Type C designed by Ferdinand Porsche, the European championship spoils in 1936. But it was swiftly toppled by Mercedes and never resumed its top-flight presence after the Second World War.
Works Porsche pilot Dan Gurney won the French and Solitude GPs in 1962 but the marque pulled out of Formula 1 at the end of the year on the grounds of cost. The 1983-87 glory years as an engine partner to McLaren were privately funded and ran under the TAG moniker, so were not a true factory triumph. The V12 that Porsche then directly provided for Footwork in 1991 was appalling. It hasn’t been seen at the apex of single-seater racing since.
But Audi and Porsche now appear ready to pick up their respective stories. Both have the belief that they can craft their greatest grand prix successes to date, and that includes putting eight-time constructors’ champion Mercedes in the crosshairs. And both are
