Written by William Stephens, Edited by Haneen Abbas
We have all seen the rumours and the potential partnerships that could be coming, but how will this massive step up for Audi and Porsche affect motorsports worldwide?
Let's start with Formula E, Audi have already left after 84 races and seven years since the start of the championship. Porsche however are still running and are committed to the “gen 3” era set to be fully revealed at the Monaco EPrix. They are staying for now as one of the confirmed manufacturers and will become the only German manufacturer after the departure of Mercedes at the end of the current season. How much longer can they stay before money starts to run short and the team could possibly leave?
Both Audi and Porsche have committed to a return to the historic Circuit de la Sarthe under the new LMDH ruleset allowing them into both WEC and IMSA(International Motor Sports Association). The Porsche has run on track multiple times and most recently at the newly modified Spa-Francorchamps. Audi however, put the project “on hold” in March for “2 or 3 months” (Audi spokesperson via Autosport) and could even stop it fully.
Audi recently ran an all-electric car at the Dakar rally in a fully electric custom-built SUV style vehicle, which won four stages and was very successful over the whole rally despite several issues. If Audi enters F1 this project could very well be forced to stop with the vast amount of energy and money the F1 project would take up.
Audi and Porsche both have customers racing in GT cars, with both being a popular choice for many teams all over the world in many series. With the announcement that GT3 will replace GTE in WEC and at Le Mans, almost every manufacturer has announced a new car or a new package for the existing car including the recently released Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. If Audi and Porsche enter F1, as either an engine supplier or a full team takeover it would mean that the customer racing division of both companies will have a smaller budget.
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