When news broke a few weeks ago about Audi hiring former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domencail, you could sense the speculation about what his role might be. Could it be a role at Ducati in MotoGP or possibly in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Le Mans? What would the role be for Stefano?
The immediate thoughts were that perhaps Dr. Wolgang Ulrich might be ready to step aside but that seemed odd as Domencali hasn’t had a lot of WEC sports car experience. Assuming he would need some before taking such a high-profile role in a team that has dominated the series for years.
When you add the unknown element of Formula 1 ex-pat Domenicali with the rumors of Sauber or Toro Rosso or even Red Bull to the equation, you get a story such as the one at motoring.com.au in which they suggest that this story has more legs than a Radio City Rockettes concert.
According to Mr. Taylor at the site, Audi is set to dump its DTM program as well as its WEC program (leaving it to VW group’s sister team Porsche) in order to focus on an assault on Formula 1. Could Mercedes AMG Petronas’s success be a siren call to the folks in Ingolstadt?
The article uncovers several possibilities and I applaud Mr. Taylor for his thoughtful consideration about how or where Audi might fit into F1. Sauber is a beleaguered team in need of a major investor while Red Bull has serious power unit issues with their Renault Sport F1 supplier. Toro Rosso has always seemed like a team without a real future other than providing seats for youngsters at a very big expense.
Have a read (link is below) and see what you think of Mr. Taylor’s assertions on who Audi might buy and let us know what you think. If Dietrich is tired of Renault and losing Vettel and Newey, he may be interested in backing out and remaining a major sponsor. Who knows?
The article gets even more into the weeds by suggesting that even Fernando Alonso’s wayward situation could find him on sabbatical for 2015 only to lead the charge to a new Audi team in 2016. Whew! We’re really rolling with the assumptions now.
On my side of the coin, I wonder if Audi might not be considering a Honda-like move in which they enter F1 as an engine supplier and one has to wonder if they aren’t looking at possible power unit development in the form of hybrid. Not sure F1 would let them bring their TDI diesel technology to the dance. That would be a game changer and outside the current regulations–although I would welcome it.
I also would be elated with any involvement Audi might entertain in F1 because I have been a big fan of the company for many years. Having owned five of them, my friends called me Lord of the Rings. A dirty secret though, I bought my first BMW a few years ago and the boys in München know how to build a damn car! Amazing piece of kit this M5. I was gutted when BMW left the sport and left Peter Sauber holding the bag.
Now, the age-old “Audi is coming to F1” story has been beaten so mercilessly that the corpse is simply moving under the force of kicking it and giving some semblance of life. If there is one thing we’re tired of hearing and re-posting, it’s more Audi-to-F1 stories but maybe this one has some gravitas. Maybe this time, Audi has made the decision. Let’s face it, they have little to prove in WEC and Porsche being there seems redundant for the VW Group. So two VW brands are now winning the series? Uh…okay.
Why not take on the Silver Arrows and show them how the Auto Union does things? Bring it!
HAt Tip: motoring.com.au
