More Porsche in F1 rumours...

[JWM]

When I was watching one of the pre-race shows, I saw saw some interesting back and forwards with Horner after some comments Toto made during the Team Principals press conference at Portugal (week before last)... Here's the quote from Toto:

"On one side, they are keen on doing their own power unit, but it's no secret that the Volkswagen Group with their two brands is looking at Formula 1, and has been part of the discussions," Wolff said. "So [Red Bull] can at any moment decide if they want to stick to their own power unit, or go with a top German manufacturer. "On the other side, the arrangement they have on the IP side with Honda is really makes sense. They are taking over the IP from Honda and obviously developing the new power unit into 2025. "It could stay within Red Bull power units, or it could go to Porsche/Audi. So overall, I think it makes sense what they do."

Christian had a dig at Toto afterwards, but didn't really rule it out:

“It’s always nice to think he knows what’s going on in other people’s business,” quipped Horner. “We’re building a fantastic facility, we’ve got some great talent coming into the facility. “What the engine’s called is another matter. At the moment there’s no discussions in place, it’s focused on being a Red Bull engine but of course, that engine could be called anything in the future.”

Would be a pretty interesting tie up. No mixed branding issues of Porsche engines in another marque of car and Red Bull are looking pretty good this season so a better option than waiting years for Williams to rebuild...

[Fishcop]

Is Porsche currently a Volkswagen Group brand though?  Semantics I'm sure

[Skidmarks]

1 hour ago, Fishcop said:

Is Porsche currently a Volkswagen Group brand though?  Semantics I'm sure

It is. 

[Raven]

Would be lovely to see them back in F1 but as we all know F1 is a cruel evil mistress , the highest of high and the lowest of lows .

It could be very a very positive move for Porsche or alternatively a disaster . I do believe that Honda will in the near future match the Pace and reliability of the Mercedes, Honda,s track record in F1 is phernominal and not something to take lightly .

Porsche certainly has the knowledge and  experience to produce and engine but as we have seen in F1 even the best manufactures can have epic failures when the difference between winning and losing is so close ,10ths of a second .

I have such a passion and love for the Porsche brand,,, and would not wish to see them fail and in some way would prefer them to stay in the GT and WEC categories they are so dominant and familiar with.

But I do understand that if you never take a risk or try something new that you never find true greatness and believe it is sometimes better to fail trying something new than to not try at all and stay in your comfort zone ..

Will be interesting if they do go down the F1 path once again  ..

[LeeM]

 Aren't Honda pulling out at the end of the year @Raven? 

 If Porsche get involved, and going by their hybrid technology, they'll be succesful within a year or so

[Raven]

21 minutes ago, LeeM said:

 Aren't Honda pulling out at the end of the year @Raven? 

 If Porsche get involved, and going by their hybrid technology, they'll be succesful within a year or so

So some of press releases and commentators are saying , dont know if that is official Honda policy at this point , but would be nice to see them keep at it , I believe they can match Mercedes it just takes time these Hybrid power plants seem to be ridiculously over complex  ,  also too we are almost half way through the year Redbull would have to have another engine supplier at this point if  Honda were exiting ,or perhap it means they will not develop the existing engine any further as part of a exit strategy , until Redbull has a new engine Supplier ,,,,but "hey" stranger things have happened in F1 and I admit I am having trouble keeping with all the current F1 goings one and endless drama ...

[wilburforce]

Not sure I'm interpreting Horner's comments correctly, but my read is that he's saying that the Redbull engine (as designed by Honda) will be rebadged after Honda leaves.  What's the likelihood of Porsche putting their branding on a Honda-developed, Red Bull-fettled F1 engine in their grand re-entrance to the sport?  2 parts sweet FA would be my (uninformed) guess.  I would expect if Porsche re-engages it will be with their own power unit.

[cafe_racer]

Aren't red bull going with ferrari engines next year?

[JWM]

Yeah Redbull have basically bought the IP from Honda and are setting up their own engine facility. They will run that engine next year.

Agree that seems a bit weird for Porsche to then want to “take over”, I wondered whether they might be thinking about it for much later, after the next engine rules change? They’re in a freeze now until then, and there was talk of pulling those rules forward, so that could work  

Or maybe the strangeness is nothing a carefully worded press release about a “redeveloped engine” can’t paper over? 😂 

[OzJustin]

On 13/05/2021 at 09:08, wilburforce said:

Not sure I'm interpreting Horner's comments correctly, but my read is that he's saying that the Redbull engine (as designed by Honda) will be rebadged after Honda leaves.  What's the likelihood of Porsche putting their branding on a Honda-developed, Red Bull-fettled F1 engine in their grand re-entrance to the sport?  2 parts sweet FA would be my (uninformed) guess.  I would expect if Porsche re-engages it will be with their own power unit.

I'm of the same understanding as you wilburforce. Red Bull could badge what was a Honda created engine as anything they want (in terms of naming rights). I'd be pretty disappointed if Porsche joined F1 as nothing more than a Red Bull naming partner. If they come back to F1 then I'd expect them to properly commit with a new Porsche-designed engine to utilise their significant engine skill and flex their muscles, perhaps for the 2025 engine refresh.