F1 News
Porsche finally unveil F1 future: 'we are really well served'
Porsche's motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach has revealed that the iconic brand's Formula 1 aspirations are no longer held, as he admits the sport is now "off the table" as they focus on other ventures instead going forward. The German manufacturer had previously been in a "final evaluation phase," alongside Volkswagen Group's sister brand Audi in April 2022. A prospective agreement with Red Bull fell through due to a "strategic non-alignment" with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, team boss Christian Horner formerly said. There are now no plans for an F1 comeback, and Laudenbach explains why.
Porsche's last F1 appearance was in the 1991 season as an engine supplier to fledgling team Footwork. The iconic marque had concrete plans in place for a return to the sport in 2026, but an agreement to become 50% owners of Red Bull Racing alongside its new powertrain division fell through over two years ago. Now, motorsport boss Laudenbach assures motorsport.com that F1 is 'not a topic' for Porsche.
“It is off the table: right now F1 is not a task for us and we are not spending any energy on that," he began. “We are only focused on what we do right now, and if you look at it, we have many different activities: we are well-occupied and extremely happy with what we do,” he explained. Porsche has enjoyed recent success in the World Endurance Championship and Formula E. Alongside the Porsche 963's (pictured above) WEC efforts, it also competes with its American counterpart IMSA. Porsche Penske won the illustrious 2024 24 Hours of Daytona. Outside of its hypercar endurance efforts, Manthey EMA's Porsche 911 GT3 R won the maiden LMGT3 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, too.
Porsche's motorsport division 'well served'
“We are engaged in customer racing from track days, GT4, one-make series up to professional GT racing (GT3),” the Chilean said. "On top of that we are racing in the two most important endurance racing series (World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship with the 963 LMDh) with our partner Penske.
“The third part, since electrification of our brand is very important, is our engagement in Formula E, which is the only full-electric series on a high level. I think we are really well served.” Laudenbach notes, as the brand excels away from F1.
What has Porsche achieved in F1?
Formula 1 has rarely been a place where Porsche has demonstrated its engineering prowess. The brand has never really 'needed' F1. Instead, they have become endurance and GT legends respectively. Under the TAG (Techniques d'Avant Garde) branding, however, Porsche won three world titles in '84, '85 and '86, as an engine supplier to McLaren. Porsche has also won one world championship race, with Dan Gurney piloting the Porsche 804 to victory at the 1962 French Grand Prix. It's safe to say any new F1 success for Porsche won't be coming soon, as the Germans instead choose to focus on ventures outside of it.