F1: Red Bull Having Conversations With Audi & Porsche

Red Bull's Helmut Marko has revealed that he is having conversations with the management of Audi and Porsche over a potential entry into Formula One in 2025 when the sport has a new engine formula. Last week, during the Austrian GP weekend, key stakeholders from the FIA, F1, the current engine manufacturers and the heads of Audi and Porsche met to discuss the next Formula One engine. It has been said that for the sake of sustainable future and for emotive reasons a new engine be developed that retain parts of the current V6 turbo hybrid engines, but with the internal combustion engine fully running on biofuels, while the electric element being increased dramatically delivering 50 per cent of the power. 

Often the Volkswagen group has shown an interest in Formula One with its lead racing brands Audi and Porsche. However, any interest in the sport fizzled out when it was embattled in the highly embarrassing and expensive "diesel gate" scandal in 2015. But since then the group has made the biggest investment in sustainable transportation of any automaker and if Formula One as a sport can be increasingly aligned to its vision, it would be interested in joining in a constructor. 

Red Bull has poached Ben Hodgkinson from Mercedes to run Red Bull Powertrains 

Marko revealed Christian Horner met with the heads of Audi and Porsche. "The people in charge at VW have made it clear what they want. They are in favour of a completely new engine formula so that they can start with equal opportunities. With the current six-cylinder, Mercedes has the biggest advantage, as they have the most successful engine," the Red Bull advisor revealed. 

With the formation of Red Bull Powertrains, there is a new engine manufacturer and it could be in a position to supply to new constructors if the need arises. Formula One also wants to attract the Volkswagen Group because it could also be a potential engine manufacturer. 

Ferrari's Mattia Binotto has said that a combination of the current engine with biofuels and an increased electric element would be the way forward. Mercedes F1 boss, Toto Wolff is of the opinion of increasing the use of biofuels as well that too in the short term. In 2022, the new engines will see 10 per cent biofuel being utilised, instead of 5 per cent that's used currently. 

Red Bull, however, which is the newest manufacturer and doesn't have a road car business to support unlike - Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine, wants to scrap the current engine completely. It wants a bold new engine that is emotive aurally as that's what made F1 an iconic sport. It also wants more standardisation of parts to reduce costs and perhaps isn't fully in favour of the use of renewable biofuels like ethanol as they are too expensive. 

The Audi CEO attended the meeting for the next F1 engine formula 

"The increase from five to ten per cent bioethanol has already cost us tens of millions of dollars. If you want to switch to fully synthetic fuels, you have to do it at the same time as the new engine regulations. Also, the e-fuels need to be available at a reasonable price, that's not the case at the moment," said Marko disagreeing with Wolff. 

But if there are so many manufacturers that are in favour of the same thing, Red Bull may not get its way the way it did recently when Honda announced its exit from F1 at the end of the 2021 season. Red Bull acquired the Honda IP but on the condition of an engine development freeze till 2025. This may especially not happen if Audi and Porsche decide to enter F1 as a manufacturer not just as a constructor. Things of course could be different if they come on board as a constructor with Red Bull as an engine supplier. 

One thing is quite clear, the Volkswagen group will not be supporting an engine that ends up polluting the environment, because of optics. Recently, it even offloaded hypercar brand Bugatti to electric hypercar maker Rimac and instead used its subsidiary Porsche to take a 24 per cent stake in the Rimac Group and a 45 per cent stake in the JV now called Bugatti Rimac, which many believe will create the ultimate hypercar company.