Audi wants to enter F1 racing by investing in an existing team
Talks with McLaren are reportedly leading nowhere
Audi could choose another F1 team if no agreement with McLaren is reached
For a while now, rumours have been circulating about a potential takeover of the McLaren F1 team by Audi, but this now seems unlikely.
The two companies have apparently failed to reach an agreement since their ideas of the value of the team are too far appart. According to reports, the German brand has offered 500 million euros to gain stakes in the British team, but this offer wasn’t enough for McLaren.
Audi wants to enter F1 by investing in an existing team rather than set up its own, but it will probably not be McLaren.
The deal is supposedly not completely off the table, but Audi has already expressed interest in Sauber and Williams.
The latter seems to be a likely candidate since the Williams team itself expressed interest in a partnership with Audi and its principal used to head Volkswagen Motorsport. Aston Martin has also said it would like to work with Audi.
The brand wants to join F1 to increase its appeal to enthusiasts in the hopes of increasing its presence in North America and in China.
Audi is not the only VW Group entity to want to integrate F1, since Porsche announced earlier this week that it will try it hand at F1 racing with the same goals in mind.
Reports say that both brands have already begun work on their own F1 racing engine, which will power Red Bull cars in the case of Porsche. The following months should tell us which team will install the Audi engine in their cars.
Despite its history in motorsports, the Volkswagen Group has never been involved in Formula 1 racing, so this would be a first for the second largest car producing company in the world.
