[ninjatalli]

Porsche calls off F1 entry plans for 2026

Porsche had called off its plans for a Formula 1 partnership with Red Bull from 2026 after confirming talks came to an end at the final leg of negotiations. Red Bull ended up partnering with Ford with their power unit division.

A new engine design is due for 2026, which would have given Porsche the chance to enter the series at the ground floor of a new powertrain era for F1 — an opportunity that usually only presents itself about once a decade.

With no other team willing to link up with them despite the German manufacturer’s insistence that they were still seeking a Formula 1 spot, Porsche has reportedly ended formal interest in 2026 Formula 1 entry. It is rumored that Porsche will instead focus their efforts on other racing series – with the brand currently competing in Formula E and getting set to enter Le Mans as part of their 963 Hypercar project.

Source: 1, 2

[Aditya]

Porsche calls off Formula 1 entry plans for 2026 - Post moved to a new thread.

[EV NXT]

Building good cars doesnt ensure that a company will do well in F1.

BMW is a classic case.

In their entire career as a full team in F1 these are the results:

Races participated: 72
Driver’s championship: 0
Constructor championships: 0
Race victories: 1

And in their entry an an engine manufacturer these are the results:

Races entered: 273
Constructors championships: 0
Driver’s championship: 1
Race victories: 20

Whereas manufacturers such as Renault that don’t otherwise build a lot of exciting cars have done far better.

Just maybe, Porsche is better off this way.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by EV NXT

Building good cars doesnt ensure that a company will do well in F1.

BMW is a classic case.

That’s not a fair comparison. BMW, and Toyota as well, had their factory teams during the peak Michael Schumacher - Ferrari era. Hardly anyone else won at that time. That’s not to say they weren’t good. The BMW V10 was widely regarded as the most powerful engine on the grid, and they were always competitive in the hands of Juan Pablo Montoya. The BMW Williams era was also the last time when the Williams team was genuinely in contention for wins every now and then.

[EV NXT]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

That’s not a fair comparison. BMW, and Toyota as well, had their factory teams during the peak Michael Schumacher - Ferrari era. Hardly anyone else won at that time. That’s not to say they weren’t good. The BMW V10 was widely regarded as the most powerful engine on the grid, and they were always competitive in the hands of Juan Pablo Montoya. The BMW Williams era was also the last time when the Williams team was genuinely in contention for wins every now and then.

BMW’s first entry as a full Formula 1 team was in 1952. Michael Schumacher wasnt even born at that time. Also BMW’s last F1 race was in 2009. Michael Schumacher quit F1 in 2006. As they say, the only area that matters is results, everything else can be considered an excuse.

[RM Motorsports]

Porsche had serious talks with Redbull and Mclaren. But Porsche wanted a controlling stake in the deal which is never going to happen in case of Redbull and Mclaren. Mclaren and Redbull have always been chassis manufacturers, with their own design philosophy since years. None of the party would like an engine manufacturer to join the team and have control or influence over the chassis design of which they have years & years of knowledge.

Even within the factory teams, mostly the engine is designed as per the chassis philosophy. Chassis and Aero philosophy are more important for success than engine horse power. For example Redbull-Renault Seb era, Renault was not the most powerful engine on the grid, but Redbull made fantastic chassis, winning 4 titles.

This video is a good wxample what went wrong for Porsche.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE2kQ1QbHz4

[ds.raikkonen]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Porsche calls off F1 entry plans for 2026

What is it with Porsche and their bids to get into F1. First in the 90s and now this.

But look at the brighter side, we might get another Carrera GT level supercar, perhaps with a Turbo Hybrid V6 instead of the glorious V10

Jokes apart, I believe Porsche should stick to endurance racing which has far more relevance to road cars, at the moment. They have done so well in the WEC for so long, and have produced equally iconic cars, off the track with the technology born in the grueling endurance races (the entire VW group has benefitted, initially with Audi's dream run and then Porsche's wins).

Though Toyota has proven to be the top dog in recent years. Let's see what this year's changes in the WEC rules will result in. Let's hope Porsche's 963 with its turbo V8 does well against the dominating Toyota Hybrids.

[motorworks]

I always presumed VW would eventually allow only any one of Audi or Porsche to become part of formula 1. I know Porsche was really serious too, but from a group perspective it doesn’t make sense to have two independent teams in F1. Secondly, why were Porsche keen on Redbull and Mclaren, knowing that these two teams have a history of being fairly independent irrespective of who is the engine supplier. Like Audi targeted Sauber, Porsche should have gone after a smaller team, like Williams for example. Williams are one of the oldest teams, have a lot of experience and history with them and now they are owned by a financial company and I dont think they would have turned down Porsche.

Audi and Porsche seem to be thinking very differently. Audi wants to take over Sauber, build it in to a top tier team. While Porsche seemed to want a top tier team from day one, well that was never going to be an easy deal, given how much Redbull and Mclaren have invested in their infrastructure and teams over the last 2 decades.

Lastly, i think it was unviable for so many manufacturers to make their own engines, i mean how many customers would they have? Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault-Alpine, RedBull-Ford power terrains, and Audi, so thats 5 power unit manufacturers without even considering Honda who have also joined in for 2026. Currently, Renault-Alpine do not supply engines to anyone else.
So if you have 5-6 power unit manufacturers and just 10-11 teams, i think one or two power unit manufacturers could end up just supplying for their factory team alone. While more the merrier may sound good, in the era of cost cap, its always good to have some customer teams, it’s good business and also great data.