It seems the Formula One’s proposed post-2021 engine regulations already are attracting major manufacturers.
Lutz Meschke, the deputy chairman of Porsche’s board of directors, confirmed Tuesday that the German automaker seriously is considering entering F1 as an engine supplier in 2021, according to Motorsport.com. Meschke was seen at Autodromo Nazionale Monza this weekend with Ross Brawn, F1’s managing director of motorsport, sparking speculation that Porsche was nearing a return to the sport.
Porsche’s board voted earlier this year to shut down its Le Mans Prototype 1 program, which costs nearly as much as an F1 operation but has less return on investment, after the 2017 World Endurance Championship concludes. It will shift focus instead to Formula E and its potential F1 entry.
“F1 could be one of the right places,” Meschke said. “As you know Formula E is very important for us now, and F1 is always a good topic to think about. And I think we are in quite good discussions regarding the new engine.”
The goal of F1’s next set of engine regulations will be to make the sport more cost effective — we dare not say affordable — by reducing the complexity of units. Rather than the current turbocharged V-6 hybrid power units, which recover energy from heat and under breaking, F1 has proposed a twin-turbo V-6 formula with a more simplistic hybrid system.
“Ultimately we’re trying to create a platform and environment where more engine manufacturers and brands and teams come into this sport and make it a compelling business proposition to do so,” Sean Bratches, F1’s head of commercial operations, told Motorsport.com.
Bratches noted Porsche would add a lot of marketing value to the sport as it’s a heritage manufacturer, having competed in F1 from 1957 to 1962 as a works outfit.
Thumbnail photo via Porsche
