Porsche explains F1 snub

[Jim Richards]

I agree with Porsche. F1's relevance to the design of road cars is questionable. How about you?

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From PlanetF1.com:

Porsche explains F1 snub
Wednesday 24th April 2013

Porsche has revealed its decision not to return to Formula One was based on the sport's lack of relevance to road cars.

There were rumours late in 2012 that the Porsche could return to F1 in the near future, but the German manufacturer has confirmed it will contest in the LMP1 category of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2014 using hybrid power.

Porsche's head of R&D Wolfgang Hatz says Formula One was never a logical route for them to take.

"We are a sportscar company," he told Autocar.

"Porsche has always lived for the transfer of racing to production cars.

"For that reason it was clear two or three years ago we had to be back in high-level motorsport, and it was a choice between top-flight sportscars or Formula One.

"The final decision was the only logical one. F1 was an alternative, but the road relevance is not there.

"Also, there is a lot of publicity around politics and tyres, but not so much about the engines and chassis.

"The aero, too, is incredible, but so extreme that it cannot result in any development in our road car understanding."

[FastCarFan]

I love how Porsche's head of R&D said, "We are a sportscar company."

[dennis in se pa]

"I love how Porsche's head of R&D said, "We are a sportscar company." "

They once were.

[Jim Richards]

Hahaha! Yeah, my thoughts turn to the pepperwagon and Panamera. LOL!

The aero developments for F1 sure don't seem to have a lot of benefit to road cars, but maybe I'm missing something.

[cairns]

I think F1 has always had relevence and still does- from disc brakes to carbon fiber and more. And the two remarks previous are right on target- even though they still make superlative sports cars they're really just another division of VW/Audi making cars and SUVs.

Hatz is just parroting the company line. Porsche will do what Mr. Piech tells them to and no more. And Mr. Piech has evidently ensured that Audi will dominate endurance racing. He'll allow Porsche to develop their sports cars and predominately sell them to private teams that run in lower classes. But they're not going to go up against MB or Ferrari on an F1 track (or even Audi's on endurance tracks) unless Mr. Piech says so. I suspect he sees little to gain and a lot of $ (and prestige) to lose.

Edit: Don't forget that they were once an engine supplier in F1 (late eighties as I recall)- and didn't do very well at all.

[gorthar]

Originally Posted by cairns

I think F1 has always had relevence and still does- from disc brakes to carbon fiber and more. And the two remarks previous are right on target- even though they still make superlative sports cars they're really just another division of VW/Audi making cars and SUVs.

Hatz is just parroting the company line. Porsche will do what Mr. Piech tells them to and no more. And Mr. Piech has evidently ensured that Audi will dominate endurance racing. He'll allow Porsche to develop their sports cars and predominately sell them to private teams that run in lower classes. But they're not going to go up against MB or Ferrari on an F1 track (or even Audi's on endurance tracks) unless Mr. Piech says so. I suspect he sees little to gain and a lot of $ (and prestige) to lose.

Edit: Don't forget that they were once an engine supplier in F1 (late eighties as I recall)- and didn't do very well at all.

Porsche supplied engines (badged as TAG) to Mclaren from late 83 through 87 and had quite a bit of success. Mclaren won Constructor titles in 84-85, and 3 drivers titles: Lauda in 84 and Prost in 85-86. You are probably thinking of the V12 they built for Footwork-Arrows team in 1991. That was a dog and was replaced with a Ford V8 midway through the season.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by cairns

I think F1 has always had relevence and still does- from disc brakes to carbon fiber and more. And the two remarks previous are right on target- even though they still make superlative sports cars they're really just another division of VW/Audi making cars and SUVs.

Hatz is just parroting the company line. Porsche will do what Mr. Piech tells them to and no more. And Mr. Piech has evidently ensured that Audi will dominate endurance racing. He'll allow Porsche to develop their sports cars and predominately sell them to private teams that run in lower classes. But they're not going to go up against MB or Ferrari on an F1 track (or even Audi's on endurance tracks) unless Mr. Piech says so. I suspect he sees little to gain and a lot of $ (and prestige) to lose.

Edit: Don't forget that they were once an engine supplier in F1 (late eighties as I recall)- and didn't do very well at all.

The TAG-Porsche motor ran in McLarens in the 1980s and was fairly successful. It won a couple constructor's titles and a couple driver's championships, IIRC. However, the Porsche motor that ran in the Footwork car in the 1990s was terrible.

And regarding the Audi/sportscar thing: Isn't Porsche planning on return to LeMans to run in the top-level LMP1 class next year? The same class that Audi has dominated for the past 15 years or so?

edit: I see gorthar has posted the same thing while I was typing.

[OffCamber00]

Originally Posted by cairns

But they're not going to go up against MB or Ferrari on an F1 track (or even Audi's on endurance tracks) unless Mr. Piech says so. I suspect he sees little to gain and a lot of $ (and prestige) to lose.

Porsche is campaigning an LMP1 entry from 2014 onwards and will be competing directly with Audi.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by OffCamber00

Porsche is campaigning an LMP1 entry from 2014 onwards and will be competing directly with the car they designed for Audi.

Fixed it for ya

[Reddog2]

[QUOTE=Jim Richards;7404354]I agree with Porsche. F1's relevance to the design of road cars is questionable. How about you?

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I believe there is some relevance with the technology developed but questionable on the cost/value to get there in F1.

More likely, today's F1 is more a brand advancement and advertising platform than anything else.

Just ask Ferrari - worldwide legions of fans who have not owned or driven a Ferrari and never will - but buying up all the Ferrari labels. This is major business to them.

[cairns]

I stand corrected thanks you guys....

[s_wilwerding]

I love F1, and would love to see Porsche in it, but I think it would reasonably take them at least five years of running a car to MAYBE be competitive. F1 is ludicrously expensive, and I think they see it as not worth it for the chance to maybe be competitive. I don't understand how Marussia and HRT, etc. spend the money that they do to be at the back every week.

And, I do think that most of what you develop for F1 cars is not applicable to road cars, since it seems like all of the marginal improvement in F1 is because of aero. The teams who are winning in F1 aren't winning because of their brake pads or their engines - it's all aero.

[sammyg2]

How do you make a small fortune in F1?
Start with a large fortune.

[OffCamber00]

I would much rather see Porsche in the WEC than in F1 so i'm very excited for next year. Plus, with the introduction of the new 991 GTE car, I am hoping they can claw back the profitability of previous years with their customer program. That will be what truly enables them to continue at the top levels of motorsport. They certainly have their work cut out for them to be competitive w/ the Ferrari 458s and Astons.

Its still unknown at this point whether this years Manthey team will be a factory backed effort along w/ the factory P1 next year, but that would be super cool. The P1 squad is all ex BMW F1 guys - I am anxious to see how they apply their F1 craft to endurance racing similar to how Toyota has done w/ their TS030. Its a totally different approach than Audi which is what has made things so interesting. Add to the mix a potential Nissan P1 entry and we have the makings of a killer world championship.

[Por_sha911]

The real reason:

"Also, there is a lot of publicity around politics and tyres, but not so much about the engines and chassis.

Bernie Ecclestone has kissed Ferrari's ring and snubbed Porsche too many times. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

"I love how Porsche's head of R&D said, "We are a sportscar company." "

They once were.

That says it all...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

F1:NASCAR::High-stakes Bingo:church Bingo night

F1 has gotten so restrictive it's almost unwatchable. It's more or less NASCAR with more money involved, slicker marketing and where the cars turn both directions occasionally.

They need to cull the rule book by a few hundred pages and let the teams actually develop and innovate. Then Porsche and others might find it worthwhile to participate because there might be trickle-down technologies.

[OffCamber00]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

They need to cull the rule book by a few hundred pages and let the teams actually develop and innovate.

I totally agree. But i also expect the disparity between the teams to jump by a great deal next year w/ the new engines and other tech regs in place.

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

"I love how Porsche's head of R&D said, "We are a sportscar company." "

They once were.

How can you say that when they still make Boxsters, Caymans, GT3s, RS's, RSRs, and the like?

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by BReif61

How can you say that when they still make Boxsters, Caymans, GT3s, RS's, RSRs, and the like?

Because they also make lots of SUVs and 4-door sedans. (More than they do the sportscars?)