Essentially there are two reasons for the participation by teams in Formula One. It is either for technological advancement or for fun, or what could be described as marketing.
Hence teams such as Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine are in it for the technology. They are involved in car manufacture and/or the technology utilised in car manufacturing. Yes, while there is a marketing advantage to be gained with the association with Formula One, these teams are driven by making advances in technology that can be applied within their car design and manufacture.
The other teams are in it for the fun of it and the marketing advantage and exposure benefited by their involvement with F1. The best example would be Red Bull Racing and the promotion of their brand of energy drink. While they are a car manufacturer, the new Aston Martin team are there to promote the brand while the technology advancement may come later.
This leads us to Volkswagen. Autosport.com have run an interesting opinion piece by Christian Nimmervoll titled ‘Why the chances of a VW Group F1 entry are better than ever’
As Nimmervoll points out, for years, the Volkswagen Group have been sniffing around F1, almost trying to dip their toe into the water, but never finally making that commitment.
It seems that they have now sent some very definite signals that they are about to jump in. This could be dependent on the outcome of new engine regulations from 2025.
The back story to this is the decision, taken two years ago, made by VW that it will develop its final generation of vehicles using combustion engine technology in 2026, with the switch to eFuels thereafter.
There F1 involvement may depend on whether both the F1 and VW future corporate strategies align. As Nimmervoll points out, ‘For Volkswagen, topics such as sustainability (downsizing to a four-cylinder; hybrid; e-fuels) are of elementary importance, as is a budget cap for powertrain development. These are goals that align with those of FIA president Jean Todt – and which could arouse interest not only at Volkswagen, but also among other manufacturers.‘
What to watch for is whether the VW Group will be involved in talks about the new engine regulations which will influence the future of F1.
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