Piech walks out of VW

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mario
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Piech walks out of VW

Post by mario »

So, it seems that the recent argument between Piech and Winterkorn that had spilled out into the public sphere has been brought to a sudden close by Piech's unexpected resignation as chairman of VW. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32468360

Having criticised Winterkorn, it looks as if Piech found himself without any support after the rest of the board, not to mention the government of Lower Saxony, backed Winterkorn over Piech. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32276496

I bring this up because it has been frequently mentioned that one reason for VW's refusal to enter into F1 is because Piech and Ecclestone have had a very poor working relationship. By comparison, it seems that Winterkorn has been more open to the idea of VW entering F1, and generally keener than Piech on using motorsport to promote VW as a whole.

Although the odds of VW entering F1 are still fairly low, it would seem to be the case that the odds have improved slightly given one potential barrier is now no longer there.
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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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Volkswagen/Audi entering Formula 1 is probably one of the few things which could help save it.
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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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The budgets of the factory LMP1 teams are approaching those of smaller Formula 1 teams like Sauber or Force India. VW currently has two brands (Audi and Porsche) competing in F1. Yet, competing in Formula 1 gives more attention than LMP1, even if you're winning Le Mans. So in some ways, it would make sense for VW to split their Motorsport efforts between F1 and WEC.

On the other hand, there are several big reasons not to enter F1 at the moment. Obviously, there's F1s ongoing financial crisis, which in the mid to long term could affect its popularity. Then there are the engine regulations, which are restricting development more and more every year. And the uncertainity about Formula 1's future regulations. Porsche started working on their LMP1 car two years prior to its debut, and while the new LMP1 regulations weren't finalized, the general direction was known.

Also, it was revealed some time ago that Formula 1 was Porsche's backup plan in case they weren't allowed to directly compete against Audi. So despite F1's popularity, Porsche's preferred choice was LMP1.
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mario
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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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pi314159 wrote:The budgets of the factory LMP1 teams are approaching those of smaller Formula 1 teams like Sauber or Force India. VW currently has two brands (Audi and Porsche) competing in F1. Yet, competing in Formula 1 gives more attention than LMP1, even if you're winning Le Mans. So in some ways, it would make sense for VW to split their Motorsport efforts between F1 and WEC.

On the other hand, there are several big reasons not to enter F1 at the moment. Obviously, there's F1s ongoing financial crisis, which in the mid to long term could affect its popularity. Then there are the engine regulations, which are restricting development more and more every year. And the uncertainity about Formula 1's future regulations. Porsche started working on their LMP1 car two years prior to its debut, and while the new LMP1 regulations weren't finalized, the general direction was known.

Also, it was revealed some time ago that Formula 1 was Porsche's backup plan in case they weren't allowed to directly compete against Audi. So despite F1's popularity, Porsche's preferred choice was LMP1.

If you believe some of the rumours, Audi's budget is more than just close to the midfield F1 teams - the lowball figures are typically around $120 million, which would be around Force India's budget (for what it is worth, Jalopnik published an article recently that suggested Audi's budget was closer to $240 million a year, though I'd be inclined to treat that with a healthy pinch of salt).

In Porsche's case, it has to be said that the incentive to return to sportscar racing is stronger than to return to F1 - they have an extensive and hugely successful history at Le Mans (they are still the most successful competitor there, even with their long hiatus from the sport) which has ample opportunities to milk for marketing, whereas their history in F1 is rather more mixed.

As for the engine regulations, well, the uncertainty over the regulations could give VW some negotiating room - VW did participate in the original discussions on the engines, and Newey has claimed that VW helped write elements of the current engine regulations. Given that VW would be a heavy hitter if they were to enter the sport, I imagine that they could potentially exploit the uncertainty to negotiate something for the future.

I'd agree that, right now, F1 would still be something of a poisoned chalice - on the other hand, the question is whether the increased exposure would outweigh the costs for VW? It might have cost Mercedes a lot in 2014, but the general consensus is that the coverage Mercedes got from F1 in 2014 still left them in an overall positive position, and it certainly bought them a level of interest that the WEC cannot deliver upon.
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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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mario wrote:
pi314159 wrote:The budgets of the factory LMP1 teams are approaching those of smaller Formula 1 teams like Sauber or Force India. VW currently has two brands (Audi and Porsche) competing in F1. Yet, competing in Formula 1 gives more attention than LMP1, even if you're winning Le Mans. So in some ways, it would make sense for VW to split their Motorsport efforts between F1 and WEC.

On the other hand, there are several big reasons not to enter F1 at the moment. Obviously, there's F1s ongoing financial crisis, which in the mid to long term could affect its popularity. Then there are the engine regulations, which are restricting development more and more every year. And the uncertainity about Formula 1's future regulations. Porsche started working on their LMP1 car two years prior to its debut, and while the new LMP1 regulations weren't finalized, the general direction was known.

Also, it was revealed some time ago that Formula 1 was Porsche's backup plan in case they weren't allowed to directly compete against Audi. So despite F1's popularity, Porsche's preferred choice was LMP1.

If you believe some of the rumours, Audi's budget is more than just close to the midfield F1 teams - the lowball figures are typically around $120 million, which would be around Force India's budget (for what it is worth, Jalopnik published an article recently that suggested Audi's budget was closer to $240 million a year, though I'd be inclined to treat that with a healthy pinch of salt).

In Porsche's case, it has to be said that the incentive to return to sportscar racing is stronger than to return to F1 - they have an extensive and hugely successful history at Le Mans (they are still the most successful competitor there, even with their long hiatus from the sport) which has ample opportunities to milk for marketing, whereas their history in F1 is rather more mixed.

As for the engine regulations, well, the uncertainty over the regulations could give VW some negotiating room - VW did participate in the original discussions on the engines, and Newey has claimed that VW helped write elements of the current engine regulations. Given that VW would be a heavy hitter if they were to enter the sport, I imagine that they could potentially exploit the uncertainty to negotiate something for the future.

I'd agree that, right now, F1 would still be something of a poisoned chalice - on the other hand, the question is whether the increased exposure would outweigh the costs for VW? It might have cost Mercedes a lot in 2014, but the general consensus is that the coverage Mercedes got from F1 in 2014 still left them in an overall positive position, and it certainly bought them a level of interest that the WEC cannot deliver upon.

Maybe the $240 was what Audi spends in general, including DTM and GT.
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mario
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Re: Piech walks out of VW

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This wrote:
mario wrote:
pi314159 wrote:The budgets of the factory LMP1 teams are approaching those of smaller Formula 1 teams like Sauber or Force India. VW currently has two brands (Audi and Porsche) competing in F1. Yet, competing in Formula 1 gives more attention than LMP1, even if you're winning Le Mans. So in some ways, it would make sense for VW to split their Motorsport efforts between F1 and WEC.

On the other hand, there are several big reasons not to enter F1 at the moment. Obviously, there's F1s ongoing financial crisis, which in the mid to long term could affect its popularity. Then there are the engine regulations, which are restricting development more and more every year. And the uncertainity about Formula 1's future regulations. Porsche started working on their LMP1 car two years prior to its debut, and while the new LMP1 regulations weren't finalized, the general direction was known.

Also, it was revealed some time ago that Formula 1 was Porsche's backup plan in case they weren't allowed to directly compete against Audi. So despite F1's popularity, Porsche's preferred choice was LMP1.

If you believe some of the rumours, Audi's budget is more than just close to the midfield F1 teams - the lowball figures are typically around $120 million, which would be around Force India's budget (for what it is worth, Jalopnik published an article recently that suggested Audi's budget was closer to $240 million a year, though I'd be inclined to treat that with a healthy pinch of salt).

In Porsche's case, it has to be said that the incentive to return to sportscar racing is stronger than to return to F1 - they have an extensive and hugely successful history at Le Mans (they are still the most successful competitor there, even with their long hiatus from the sport) which has ample opportunities to milk for marketing, whereas their history in F1 is rather more mixed.

As for the engine regulations, well, the uncertainty over the regulations could give VW some negotiating room - VW did participate in the original discussions on the engines, and Newey has claimed that VW helped write elements of the current engine regulations. Given that VW would be a heavy hitter if they were to enter the sport, I imagine that they could potentially exploit the uncertainty to negotiate something for the future.

I'd agree that, right now, F1 would still be something of a poisoned chalice - on the other hand, the question is whether the increased exposure would outweigh the costs for VW? It might have cost Mercedes a lot in 2014, but the general consensus is that the coverage Mercedes got from F1 in 2014 still left them in an overall positive position, and it certainly bought them a level of interest that the WEC cannot deliver upon.

Maybe the $240 was what Audi spends in general, including DTM and GT.

It's plausible that Jalopnik confused the general motorsport budget with the one specific for Le Mans - Wolfgang Dürheimer, who used to work for VW's motorsport division, is quoted in the German press as saying Audi's program for the WEC costs €100 million a year.

That figure would come in towards the $120 million a year figure bandied about, whilst another $120 million to cover the WRC, DTM and GT racing doesn't sound unreasonable either.
Martin Brundle, on watching a replay of Grosjean spinning:
"The problem with Grosjean is that he want to take a look back at the corner he's just exited"
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