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Audi Interested in F1? More Rumours

In the past there have been persistent rumours (we blogged about one here a last year) that Audi may get involved in F1.  Normally these are squashed by Audi but the most recent ones have been sparked by Mario Theissen, head of motor sports at BMW.

Mario Commented recently:

Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche are closely considering entering F1, along with several unnamed Asian automakers. Although its sister company Renault already runs a team, Nissan has been touted as a possible entry. More likely, however, is that Hyundai/Kia will seek the prominence and the technology to go with its rise in the ranks by joining the fray.

Adding to the speculation is the fact that Audi’s parent company Volkswagen already has a relationship with Red Bull, the two companies working together on projects like the Touareg rally car.  Gerhard Berger has been mooted to lead Audi’s involvement in F1, having links with both former Volkswagen Group chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder and Red Bull energy drinks magnate Dietrich Mateschitz. Most German racing Tifosi would love to have Michel Schumacher come out of retirement or to get involved with the team – given his relationship with Ferrari this seems unlikely.

Despite such rumours, however, Audi chairman Rupert Stadler underlined in an interview with German news agency SID that:

“F1 is still not an issue for us.”

Though with F1 emphasising fuel economy and energy recovery in the next set of changes  to the F1 Regs – and  given F1s propensity for unleashing bombshells like Brands Hatch losing the British GP to Donnington – we may all be surprised.