James O. sent me a link to an article today that indicated Volkswagen is considering an entry into Formula One. Reinhold Carl, the managing director of Audi Singapore, told reporters, “If the cost is lower, it will be more manageable.” This was after he mentioned that teams had to lay out “well over a hundred million Euros” annually for an Formula 1 program.
I’ve never been a huge F1 guy, but I have a buddy who tapes every race just so he can go back and watch them uninterrupted. Kind of like me with 24 I suppose. Some serious driving of some serious machinery there though. I get that part.
The interesting thing about Carl’s comments are they’re coming after a worldwide recession that hit the auto industry HARD. We’ve already seen Jaguar and Honda pull out with BMW hot on their heels. Sounds like Toyota and Renault are close to doing the same. You have to wonder what the real benefits are to a manufacturer…bragging rights aside of course.
Could Porsche be the branding VW uses for a Formula One entry?
[Via F1-Live.com]
F1 is definitely just for bragging rights. There’s no way the incremental sales gained are going to offset the massive expense of running that kind of operation. That said, I really like open-wheel racing and will definitely go to F1 or Indy if it comes to PIR again.
The manufacturers do claim gained technology from racing (any form) . F1 is a lot of bragging rights and promotion of a marque, But to some degree the trickle down makes it to production…although the only thing i can think of in recent is paddle shifts lol
Traction control. carbon ceramic brakes. Also I think that Ferrari would tell you that 5 consecutive championships help with sales.