Audi to Join F1. Rekindled old rumor or legit?

Interesting.


I always wondered how a F1 team could circumvent the ban on testing by disguising its car as a LMP or else. Surely the FIA would find something to say about that.

 

Oh no...here we go again...

 

Last October's lengthy Audi F1 thread originated with an Auto-Express story too.....

 

I wish I had a dollar for every Audi-is-joining-F1 story over the past decade

 

Audi isn't joining.

If Audi joined, they would destroy the field IMO. They seem to build race cars very well.

 

But then, what is left to do when you have already won Le Mans 13 times in the last 15 years?

Or AUDI accepts a new challenge and steps up to F1, or it leaves motor racing altogether.

 

Audi knows they would have to dump infinite truckloads or money into making a formula 1 team viable, not to mention hire the best people and essentially follow what Brawn did for mercedes. I highly doubt they are going to want to jump into this particular formula, but I could see them entering once the formula makes a big change again.

They would only be good if they hired the right people. BMW fell flat on their face because they didn't get the right people. Brawn did it right. Somehow I think that would be a tough pill for Audi

 

I am sure that the media have spent 10x the amount of time writing about Audi and F1 than Audi have probably spent contemplating entering.

 

WRC again?
Maybe a Dakar?

Why mess up a good thing. You're dominating a sport currently, why take on the unknown? I get the challenge aspect to prove total dominance, but if you're destroying the competition what would be the point in spending hundreds of millions to hopefully win again?

 

When F1 makes engines hybrid diesels, Audi would be all in.

It should just be called VAG F1.

The Volkswagen group has a pretty impressive lineup.

 

Audi could be very tempted because of the new regs overlapping LM, if only to be engine supplier at minimum.

 

A good way to cripple an effort that has not yet started!

 

okes said the same thing about Aldo Costa's signing at Mercedes.

 

+1. You took the words out of my mouth. Another Audi f1 story.

 

When the Audi juggernaut said 1yr ago it had no interest in F1 that was probably just a "I love you but I hate you" spin doctor comment but the thought did get its own thread on FerrariChat.

 

Another angle on SD joining Audi I thought was a connection to Fernando Alonso. Fred made it no secret his interest in Audi's LM project. Perhaps Fred has a post F1 plan with Audi and SD.

 

Fred's experience and maturity in racing would be great in a endurance series, just my opinion of course.

 

But why would Audi want to recruit somebody so disruptive, who barely tolerates his team mates, poisons a team atmosphere, criticises his cars to the media and acts like a prima dona?

Endurance is far more a team sport than F1, and not the right environment for a sulky individual prone to tantrums. Just my opinion, of course!

 

Think about Audi's involvement I motorsport...seriously. What is the single most outstanding attribute of every great achievement they have had? INNOVATION!
From the Auto Union rear engine GP cars of the 1930s, to the Quattros that stood rallying on its head, to TDI and e-tron total domination of LMP, every instance involved Audi breaking the mold. Quattro and TDI have DIRECT transfer to road cars.

There is nothing in the F1 technical regulations that leaves room for the kind of maverick, breakthrough innovation that has been their hallmark. Audi are best when they are thinking outside the box, not operating inside somebody else's box. So, why take the risk that they enter a race series where they stand to lose to the likes of Renault or Honda while having one hand tied behind their back and being governed by technologies not dreamed up in Ingolstadt? Be sides that, why put in all the effort and capital required to compete under the current formula, when it may only have a year or two to run.

Perhaps, if F1 can loosen up the formula and make room for the manufacturers to find the solution to a problem, Audi might...might consider F1 as a showplace for their innovative expertise.

 

Why must it be Audi (they are not the only team who competes at Le Mans)? Why should those who only read gossip/internet fodder make judgments based upon said fodder and then portray the belief that the subject of their dismay will forever be held accountable for actions that they have no proof of?

Any who back OT. If Audi wants to compete in F1 I will welcome them with open arm's.

 

Given the current talent of drivers, ex drivers and their management team, I'm sure they could handle any "tantrums" Alonso throws. He might be the best driver in F1, but might not be in Endurance. He's a 2 time WDC, Andre Lotterer is a 3 time LeMans winner. Tom Kristensen is 9 time. That's not an easy feat.

I also imagine Endurance is a lot more team oriented than "me" oriented.

 

One thing that we know about Alonso is that he loves getting paid.

At 33 soon to be 34 years old he has potentially another decade of driving in WEC ahead of him if Tom Kristensen retiring at 45/46 and McNish at 43 are any kind of measuring stick.

Stefano being there to ease that transition and another opportunity for Fernando to get paid for the next 5-10 years driving LMP1 makes more sense to me than Stefano being there to kickstart their F1 team.

 

Any idea what the criteria are for Alonso's FIA medical test?

Fernando Alonso To Seek Formula One?s Governing Body FIA?s Approval Before He Can Return To The McLaren-Honda Cockpit

 

We know he's got to be able to get out in a hurry. This is what got Bottles, but shouldn't be a problem for him.

I seem to recall that they'd also implemented the same kind of concussion testing protocols used by the NFL (among others?) ie, they record some kind of 'baseline' and they've got to try to match their 'score' before being considered in the clear. I think?

Beyond that, I really don't know. My guess is physically he's fine, it's whether his head is OK that seems to be the 'issue'. [cue cruel jokes about the state of Freds head next. ]

Cheers,
Ian