Volkswagen admits F1 plans 27/11/2009 |
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Volkswagen has revealed it could enter Formula One as an engine supplier.
The German car manufacturer, which has been linked with Red Bull in the past, has expressed an interest in getting involved in the sport from 2012 because it believes F1 is heading in the right direction.
Spokesman Hans-Joachim Stuck told Autosport the company could make a ‘world engine’ that would be available to all teams and said: “If you’re the world’s largest manufacturer, it is natural that we’re thinking about Formula One, but not before 2012.
“We’re looking for innovative things, and Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport. Two years ago there was some talk that Volkswagen was going to buy the Red Bull F1 team, which we didn’t need to buy. Why should we stick with one team if we can give our engines to more teams?
“If you buy Red Bull and Adrian Newey wants to go flying or fishing, the team is not successful any more. Look at BMW. They bought this multi-million-dollar wind tunnel and a supercomputer and they now close the doors. Building an engine and providing it to a team is the best way.”
Stuck says F1’s return to bigger grids, and the new low-cost regulations, has made it more attractive despite the withdrawal of BMW, Toyota and Honda in the last year.
“Now it’s amazing – Formula One goes the right way,” he added. “Many manufacturers have pulled out, which I think is a great deal, because we have manufacturers that we don’t know for how long they will do it.
“They should become engine manufacturers and then lease the engine, sell the engine or give it to somebody. Then you lose all the hassle with teams, wind tunnels and engineers.
“It’s like Formula One in my days. We had March, we had Lotus, and we had Ford engines. Then Renault came in as engine manufacturer, with a formidable engine. This was perfect.
“I followed Formula One for the last seven years and I always asked myself on the grid, with only 20 cars, what if we could have 30 cars? Now we’re getting back to this.
“We have three more teams next year, 26 cars, and by having a global engine, which is good in cost and reliable, we can have 30 cars on the grid.”
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