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#436638
Pittpass.com


The resignation of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech has revived talk of the company entering F1


For as long as anyone can remember, the Volkswagen Group, whose brands include Porsche, Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Bentley, has been linked with F1.

However, for much of this time, the man standing in the way of such a move was Piech, who, apart from not seeing what would ultimately be gained by entering the sport, made no secret of his intense dislike of Bernie Ecclestone.

On Saturday, Piech, grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, resigned as chairman of the Volkswagen Group after losing out in a bitter boardroom battle with Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn which even saw his cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, vote against him.

The meeting, the second in as many weeks, was the culmination of a long-running power struggle between Piech and Winterkorn, who had been offered a new long-term contract by Volkswagens's Supervisory Board.

Following Piech’s resignation, which is with immediate effect, Berthold Huber, a senior trade unionist will take over until a new chairman is elected, many believing that Winterkorn will now fill the role.

With Piech gone, there is already intense speculation that this might clear the way for Volkswagen to reappraise its stance on F1.

Already enjoying a strong sport presence with Audi and Porsche in WEC, Bentley and Lamborghini in GT Racing and VW itself in WRC, F3 and Rallycross, F1 would seem the obvious next move.

Indeed last year Audi further fuelled the speculation when it hired former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali and Williams and BMW engineer Jorg Zander.

In 2012, Wolfgang Durheimer, head of Bentley, Bugatti and Motorsport within the VW Group, made it clear that he was keen to see the company in F1 saying involvement in the sport was vital for planned sales in the American, Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

Durheimer, who previously headed Porsche, which, following a brief flirtation with F1 in the early 60s which included a win for Dan Gurney in the 1962 French Grand Prix, and which subsequently enjoyed success in the 1980s with McLaren, securing three drivers and two constructors' titles with the Woking team, said that "F1 has the most relevance and dominates motor sport in Europe and Asia".

Previously, in 2011, the head of technical development at Volkswagen, Ulrich Hackenberg, when asked about talk of the German company expanding its motorsport activities to include F1 said: "There is certainly one or the other person out there in the world that would wish for that, but we don't have that on the programme.

"I should know what I am talking about," he added, "since it would come out of my budget."

He subsequently said he envisaged VW entering F1 by 2018. "I could imagine involvement in Formula One in 2018, when the company is at the forefront of the industry. We have enough brands that could do that."

The stumbling block was always Piech indeed, only last week, minded that the one thing preventing Audi from entering F1 was the German's loathing of him, Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "Nobody's told me that. If that is the case, I'll leave. I would be happy to step down if it brought those people in."

With Piech's resignation, that particular stumbling block appears to have gone.
#436670
Isn't this always the way...

Staff wrote:">VW boss exit opens door even as Ecclestone offers to go

...Winterkorn has held the role of chief executive for the past eight years, in which time VW's various brands have increased their presence – and success rate – in various areas of competition outside of F1.

Whilst the parent company currently rules the WRC, Audi has been a long-time force in sports prototypes, where it is now rejoined by Porsche, while both marques compete against Lamborghini and Bentley in GTs. F1, however, has so far remained off-limits, despite the company's previous single-seater success in F3, as Piech refused to allow VW or Audi – the most talked about brands – to be a part of a championship controlled by Ecclestone.

Ironically, Ecclestone only recently told a BBC interview that he would be more than willing to step away from F1 if it would facilitate the ingress of more manufacturers.

"Nobody's told me that [I was the reason they weren't entering],” he told team boss-turned-pundit Eddie Jordan, “If that is the case, I'll leave. I would be happy to step down if it brought those people in."

Despite the team being coy on the subject, rumours that the VW Group could enter into a partnership with Red Bull as an engine supplier continue to persist, though even an imminent commitment would likely defer any entry until 2017 at the earliest.

#436672

Audi: Motoring giant 'has no plans to enter Formula 1'

Audi says it has no plans to enter Formula 1, despite the resignation of the executive who for decades has been the major obstacle to the move.

Ferdinand Piech quit as chairman of the Volkswagen Group, Audi's parent company, following a power struggle at the German car manufacturer.

The 78-year-old was a steadfast opponent of any VW brand entering F1.

"The current situation is that Audi definitely has no intention to enter F1," a spokesman told BBC Sport.

He said the company's motorsport facility was full with its existing programmes in other categories, which include the World Endurance Championship and the German Touring Car Championship (DTM).

Audi has been repeatedly linked with an F1 entry over the last 20 years but each time media reports that the company was considering the idea came to nothing.

The chairman of Audi's board, Rupert Stadler, is said to be keen on the brand entering F1, but sources say Piech vetoed a plan to do just that when it was presented to him in January.

Red Bull have denied claims by insiders that part of this plan was a deal to buy their four-time championship-winning team.

The story doing the rounds among senior figures in the German car industry and F1 was that Audi had agreed with Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz to buy Red Bull Racing for £500m but that when the idea was put to Piech in January he said: "We'd rather not do this."

When asked in February about these claims, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "No, no, you're miles off, I promise."

Horner added: "Look, there's no way. Maybe he (Mateschitz) would have sold Toro Rosso, but I can't see it. Certainly not Red Bull Racing."

Asked whether he had discussed this specific subject with Mateschitz, Horner said: "We talk about things, obviously quite a lot of the time. But I honestly believe you are quite a long way off the mark with that one."

There is significant support for the idea of Audi entering F1 within the company's senior management, according to sources.

A feasibility study into the idea was conducted last year by former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, who was hired by Audi after resigning from the Italian team last April.

Sources in the German car industry and F1 say Piech's antipathy for F1 was rooted in a personal dislike of Bernie Ecclestone, who controls the sport with a similar dictatorial influence to the one Piech formerly exercised over VW.

His departure - following a boardroom dispute with VW Group chief executive Martin Winterkorn - removes the main impediment to any of VW's brands entering F1. The German giant's portfolio also includes Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda.
#436817
Grand Prix Times:

Audi's participation in Formula 1 has been speculated about numerous times over the past decade, but the German marque has never taken the jump into the single seater category.

However that could all be about to change with confirmation from Audi chairman Rupert Stadler that it's something they're looking at.

"I can't answer that," he replied, when asked by AutoExpress whether Audi would be on the grid within five years.

But when pressed on the matter, he added: "It's something we're looking at, but then we're always looking at it and many other things. But I can’t say yes or no."

Whilst it's certainly not a firm answer, Stadler didn't deny the growing rumours of Audi's potential involvement.

The Volkswagen owned brand is favourite to join the grid following the resignation of group boss Ferdinand Piech, often considered a blockade to Audi's involvement.

Insiders within Audi and parent company VAG have previously revealed that the former is being pushed toward exiting Germany's touring car championship (DTM) as well as Endurance Racing, freeing up its marketing budget for Formula 1.

Whilst that wouldn't be enough to fund an F1 team, additional funding could come from Red Bull.

Former-Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo revealed that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz is trying to convice Audi to buy out the Milton Keynes team, or possibly its sister team Toro Rosso. It's believed Mateschitz has promised sponsorship funds to aid Audi's entry.
#438352
F1 speculation for Volkswagen is long gone I would imagine. VW is facing humiliation and $18B in fines for cheating on EPA emissions testing. Are the Americans are set to take down a big european competitor?

http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/09 ... arket.html

If you own one of these 'clean diesels' you could expect a big drop in resale value if the fix hurts engine performance or fuel economy.

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