12th F1 team: Volkswagen Group not interested
The Volkswagen Group - which includes brands such as Audi and Porsche - does not seem interested in F1 despite the recent call for tenders launched by the FIA to designate a 12th Formula 1 team.
In 2010, with the arrival of the teams Team Lotus (which became Caterham), Virgin (which became Marussia), and Hispania (which later became HRT), the Formula 1 World Championship lineup consisted of 12 teams. However, since then, this number has decreased by one due to the bankruptcy of the Spanish team HRT at the end of 2012.
While until now, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile was not concerned about replacing the missing team, it recently announced the launch of an invitation to tender for this 12th F1 license, which will conclude on January 3, 2014.
If the manufacturers have been coming and going for several years as team owners, like Renault, Toyota, or Honda, there is one that has not wished to get involved despite recurring rumors of joining F1: the Volkswagen group.
The German group, partner of the Toro Rosso team and owner of brands like Porsche and Audi—both engaged in Endurance racing in 2014—could use F1 to enhance its brand image. With the anticipated competition between these two brands in the World Endurance Championship, some observers speculated that Audi could make way for Porsche in Endurance, with F1 being a possibility for continuing Audi Sport’s journey.
But it is not in Volkswagen’s plans to turn to F1 as Stefan Moser, the head of communication, revealed to *Speek Week*: “We have no plan to enter Formula 1.” These remarks were confirmed by Jurgen Pippig, head of communication at Audi: “We are focusing on our existing programs, Endurance and DTM. We have no plans for Formula 1.”
