Porsche would be a “great addition” for everyone in F1 – Wolff

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In the round-up: Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hopes Porsche finds a way into Formula 1, after the brand confirmed its talks with Red Bull over a tie-up were off.

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In brief

Big brands like Porsche “important for F1”

An entry by Porsche would “definitely be accretive to Formula 1”, said Porsche, after its plans to enter with Red Bull in 2026 fell through. “They just need to figure out if there’s another interesting project, whether they can buy a team,” he said. “Maybe that’s not ’26, maybe that’s ’27 or ’28, but it would be a great addition to the region overall.”

Manufacturers like Porsche are more likely to add value to their participation in F1, said Wolff. “Every large corporation, especially auto companies – not only all of the companies because Red Bull is also pretty good at that – that not only buys a racing team and invests large amounts of money into running it, but invests even more into activation is beneficial for Formula 1.

“If a brand like Porsche that is known all over the world puts their marketing dollars into activating Formula 1, we will all be benefitting. And I think this is the important part – not just having a team and running it but in all the markets that we race, big advertising, big campaigns, putting the brand out there that. That’s why having these big brands in Formula 1 is important.”

Alonso was the “villain” when I watched F1 – Stroll

Alonso’s 2023 team mate used to root for his rival
Lance Stroll admits he didn’t root for his future team mate Fernando Alonso when he watched F1 as a child. “Watching him on the TV in 2004 or ’05, ’06, when he won his championships fighting against Schumacher – I was a Schumacher supporter.”

Stroll admitted to Alonso “he was like he was like the bad guy in my eyes – I was like six like in the movies, the villain.”

“But I always knew he was always very, very exciting and fun to watch,” Stroll added. “And still is. One of the best drivers out there. And he’s still hustling at 42 or whatever he is. So, you know, no pressure.”

FIA appoints first CEO

The FIA has appointed its first ever CEO. Natalie Robyn will join the governing body of motorsport “in the near future”, it says. She was previously the CEO and managing director of Volvo Switzerland and before that worked for Nissan and Daimler.

“The appointment of Natalie Robyn as our first ever CEO is a transformative moment for our federation,” said FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem. “Her extensive experience and leadership will be crucial to improving our finances, governance and operations.

“She has a proven track record of delivering diversification and growth, as well as developing executive leadership capabilities which will be an extremely valuable asset to the FIA and our Members and I welcome her to the team.”

Blakeley adds another F1 Esports win

McLaren’s Lucas Blakeley repeated his win from the opening round of the F1 Esports series, beating Red Bull pair Marcel Keifer and Frederik Rasmussen at Imola.

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Comment of the day

Rom is not impressed by Alpine:

I might just be me but I’ve never seen a factory outfit lacking ambition as today’s Renault/Alpine. With Alpine I only get a feeling they’re just kind of there as a forgotten manufacturer.

Multiple massive rule changes and in all of them haven’t made a single step forwards to the other top three teams in years as a factory outlet. Compare that to Ferrari who in 20 and 21 were on the same midfield level, threw all their weight in the new rules and build a completive car in the new regulations. Sure Ferrari failed miserably in many things this year but you at least get a clue an effort was made and they want to compete at the front.

Alpine are still hanging around the midfield when with all the resources and factory backing they have, should have broken out a long time ago. I at least expect them to be somewhere in the chasm of top three and the rest but it never seems to get there.

Add in the losing Alonso to a Aston Martin, the Piastri/McLaren debacle and that upcoming Hungary test where everyone with a helmet can participate and a power unit that’s still the worst on the grid…

What exactly is Alpine’s F1 goal cause for the life of me I can’t figure it out.
Rom

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Adam Milleneuve (F1 Badger), Joao Pedro Cq, Handcart and Discotheque!

On this day in motorsport

Spa specialist Kimi Raikkonen led a one-two for Ferrari in the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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36 comments on “Porsche would be a “great addition” for everyone in F1 – Wolff”

  1. Toto is up to something… An unprovoked intervention on Porsche, willing them into F1. My money is on him working them into partnership with Williams. Perhaps in the process also saving Merc some money.

    1. Spot on ! He must have an interest praising Porsche…

      1. Yeah. That’s what came up in my mind aswell. Williams Porsche. Sounds like a plan.

    2. +1 Toto / Christian / Tost / Binotto / Briatore / Chapman / Enzo and everyone else ever – never speaks like that unless there is something in it for them.

  2. Accretive! That’s a new word for me… rising from the 60’s and peaking in usage in the year two thousand. Sounds like investment mumbo jumbo. Guess that’s what Wolff is best at, behind the scenes.

    I was a fair bit older than stroll at that point, but never saw Alonso as the villain, a breath of fresh air and someone to cheer for when he came about.

    1. PS Sad news about Malaysia, loved that track.

      1. Likewise – Sepang was one of F1’s best modern circuits, IMO, and further proof that Tilke can make decent tracks when the customer wants one.
        But, unfortunately, the Malaysian economy can’t afford F1 anymore.

  3. “Money, money, money, so much funny, in a rich man’s world” – Toto Wolff

    I may have misread it, but that’s pretty much how it looked.

  4. Sorry, Toto, but on this one, we totally disagree. I know you’re heartbroken, since you have no idea who I am, and won’t read this, but… The auto manufacturers are too beholden to their stockholders and the whims of the board of directors.

    Porsche, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Honda, BMW, Toyota, Jaguar– they come, they go. Honda and Renault both have revolving doors, for cryin’ out loud. Neither Porsche nor Audi want a separate team– they just want to milk an existing team. And if Ross hadn’t had such a brilliant design for the last Honda F1 car AND been forced to switch to Mercedes power, Mercedes wouldn’t even be in the sport. As it is, the moment Dieter Zetsche left, everyone assumed Mercedes was done with F1– and when that didn’t happen, well, rumors have been swirling about Mercedes leaving for years.

    Haas, meanwhile, has been in the sport as long as Toyota, and probably scored more points. Sauber, McLaren, Williams– they’ve been around for decades, regardless of what badge is on the car. Red Bull might be a “fizzy drinks” company, but they’ve poured money into their F1 project, and have reaped the rewards (as has Mercedes, to be fair).

    Alpine/Renault/Lotus/Renault can’t make up their minds, Honda isn’t interested if it isn’t 1989 again– Aston-Martin’s here, but how long after Lance Stroll loses his seat will they continue to compete as Aston-Martin?

    At this point, it’s even money if Audi can find a team willing to sell out– Porsche thought they could steamroll Red Bull into giving them the Honda engine with a Porsche badge– and look how that worked out.

    No, sorry– Manufacturers add very little over the long haul. Determined private teams like Andretti will bring more long term value to F1 than any major manufacturer– Instead of a $200 million “antediluvian” fee (intentional), try a 7 year contract with any auto manufacturer that wants to come in.

    1. Yes, that is about right, completely agreed. Most manufacturers, with the exception of exotics like Ferrari and McLaren, don’t really have the drive to stay in F1 more than the advertising and brand benefit extends. When that fizzles out, they get out.

      I actually thought RedBull would leave as well after winning 4 championships in a row and then going a bit sour in the Merc hybrid era. To their credit, not only they have stayed, but also got into what seems to be a legit PU development effort. Not the most likeable team, but hats off for that!

      1. @gechichan – I always thought that McLaren would build his own engine first as they were the bigest & richest team around. Manufactures aren’t reailable for F1 they always have more important things to worry about.

        But Red Bull is now the one building his own engine for 2026 and beyond. (They had too do it as noone wanted to give their engines to Red Bull)

    2. As it is, the moment Dieter Zetsche left, everyone assumed Mercedes was done with F1– and when that didn’t happen, well, rumors have been swirling about Mercedes leaving for years.

      Are Mercedes really still in F1 as much as make us believe? They are merely a minority shareholder in the F1 team with naming rights (just a tad better than Alfa Romeo).

      Their HPP business can easily move on to just suppling teams which aren’t Mercedes like they did in the past.

      1. The F1 team, as far as I can tell, is still 33% Mercedes, 33% Toto, and 33% INEOS. Who owns the missing 1%, I have no idea.

    3. It is all about motivation. RedBull is in F1 for their marketing, as Ferrari. Mercedes doesn’t really benefit from it as it has already established themselves in luxury and lower class road car business. They might remain as engine supplier in the future, but they don’t lose anything if they leave unlike ferrari/redbull, as it is just a hobby for the manufacturer.

      1. Mercedes doesn’t really benefit from it? You must be kidding. Don’t lose anything if they leave? Sorry, but they’ve been gleaning billions worth of marketing value by being in F1. Just a hobby? Come off it.

    4. I agree F1 should try to make the formula without manufacturers. The engine should be something you buy of the shelve as pretty standard component. The design of the car and the driver should be what this sport is about. Financially undoable or very hard to do (RB does it, sort of) in these times though

  5. I think the very first memories I had from F1 was when Sebastian Vettel was driving at Red Bull.’

    I don’t feel old but my god how young are these guys

    1. Ahah, indeed, for me it was the year 1999.

      1. 1987 for me… The last year of Senna at lotus sporting the colors of camel… my god, am I that old ;-)

        1. Ah you’re all young…1976 for me…watching James Hunt win the British Grand Prix at my uncle’s house…aged 7!

          1. Over a decade after me. I started following F1 in 1962 and saw Jim Clark win with a BRM H-16 behind him at the first Grand Prix I attended in 1966 at age 17!

          2. The teddy on the Hesketh car appealed more to the girlfriend than me.
            I recall a visit out from work (Towcester) one lunchtime to the estate with a coworker who lived on the estate (his father was an estate employee)
            I recall forgetting why we were there when I spotted the car in the frontage of an open building.

          3. Only 10,000 years behind me. I watched Eve take victory in the -8000 Apple Grand Prix with Adam finishing a close second.

  6. Manufacturers like Porsche are more likely to add value to their participation in F1, said Wolff. “Every large corporation, especially auto companies – not only all of the companies because Red Bull is also pretty good at that – that not only buys a racing team and invests large amounts of money into running it, but invests even more into activation is beneficial for Formula 1.

    This is quite a load.
    Traditionally car companies see F1 as a marketing vehicle. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
    And the moment the financial results of said marketing is unsatisfactory, the car companies are the first to run away as far away as they can.
    If anything its car companies that through those business decisions detract value from F1 both in the short and long term.

    F1 is better of with dedicated teams. Like every competition is.

  7. Zero mention of Albon in the article, but why would he join this test as a full-time driver for another team anyway?
    Not to mention he’s already under contract for next season. Seriously, though, how many different drivers will join this Hungaroring test after Doohan, Herta, & reportedly also De Vries & Gio?

    COTD couldn’t be more accurate.

    1. I agree @jerejj. This does not make sense as far as Albon is concerned. Why would he want to test for Alpine. There is also the fact that following his emergency surgery last weekend, there has been talk that he may not have recovered enough to take part in the Singapore race. So I cannot imagine he is going to be available to test for Alpine in mid-week, next-week.

      It all seems an unlikely turn of events.

  8. Any chance we could have some exposure on Silverstone’s disgusting actions of increasing the prices of tickets for next years GP by around 10% WHILST people were queuing to buy them. Nothing but pure greed after seeing the the demand for tickets on the website traffic.

  9. Soon a Mercedes Porsche 😁

  10. Andretti Porsche has a great ring to it. Lets try and make that happen so Toto has to eat his words!!!

    1. Andretti Porsche has a great ring to it. Lets try and make that happen so Toto has to eat his words!!!

      I don’t believe he would change tack. Porsche would be working with Andretti knowing they Andretti were likely in it for the longer haul and therefore worth investing in engine production from scratch, assuming they want to make the effort.

      If you want the cynical side then consider why Porsche were so interested in RBR, which would have come with all the engine tech knowledge acquired from Honda, which handily add to the available tech to go in Porsche road cars.

  11. Heavily disagree with Wolff. Brands, especially car brands bring little to the sport. They arrive under lots of fanfare, make everything corporate, bland and dull, whinge to have the rules changed to make it easier for them despite having more money than most small countries and then leave when either they don’t win or it’s not profitable to them.

    F1 needs to encourage more independent teams that are here because of racing and the want to win than a car manufacturer that wants to sell a couple more 4×4’s or sports cars 95% of the audience will never afford.

    1. whinge to have the rules changed to make it easier for them

      I didn’t think Horner worked for a car company…

  12. @keithcollantine @willwood have you been hearing about the disgrace being experienced when trying to book tickets for the 2023 British GP? The comments section on the post on Silverstone’s Facebook page says it all.

    Silverstone have introduced repulsive dynamic pricing, that increases seemingly by the minute. After being in a virtual queue for hours yesterday, we got to the paying stage and the system crashed when we tried to pay. Silverstone suspended the ticket sale until today, saying that the booking system was fixed. We have managed to book the exact same seats that we had selected yesterday but are now have to pay an extra £200 for our tickets just because the booking system is not fit for purpose. Appalling!!!

    Surely the price changing in this way is against our consumer rights!

    The difficulty booking was bad enough, but the “dynamic pricing” during the day is disgusting! I could understand prices changing after days or weeks of being able to purchase, but to do this to fans when we’re queuing for tickets because the booking system can’t keep up leaves an incredibly bad taste.

    We have been attending the Grand Prix for years but after this we’re going to have to seriously think about whether we will again.

    We should be excited about having booked, that’s the way we’ve felt in the past. Instead we feel shafted.

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