Volkswagen confirmed that two of their brands will be entering Formula One from 2026, with Porsche and Audi set to be part of the championship in four years time.
F1 has been enjoying an exciting start to the new season, since the rules and regulations changed from the end of the dramatic 2021 championships.
Advert
Red Bull have continued their excellent form, with Max Verstappen winning two races, but it's Ferrari's resurgence and Charles Leclerc's two wins that have really caught the eye.
With the new regulations only just having come into place, fans will only have a few years of them, having far longer with the previous turbo laws, with things set to change again in 2026.
And that's why Volkswagen are coming into the sport, with VW chief executive Herbert Diess confirming on Monday that Porsche and Audi will join the championship, with the two car manufacturers expected to join in very different ways.
"You just run out of arguments [against it]," Diess confirmed in a YouTube video.
Advert
"...Porsche has to be the sportiest car brand in the world – so Porsche has to do motorsport," he added.
"And you come to the conclusion: if Porsche does motorsport, the most efficient thing is to do Formula 1. You almost have to put a check mark on that."
And the sporty car brand could be set to jump right to the front of the championship, or at least near it, with insiders reporting that they could be an engine partner for Red Bull.
Advert
They would partner with the team's engine department that would develop and build the engine, having previously had Renault and now currently having Honda, create them for the team.
The team would be run as Red Bull-Porsche under that scenario, in the same way the McLaren-Mercedes team ran throughout their partnership together.
Audi are expected to be a team on their own in the constructors championship, rather than join with someone, and they have been linked with buying out a current team.
As per the BBC, they are said to have held conversations with McLaren, Sauber, Aston Martin and Williams about buying out an existing constructor.
Advert
VW has discussed joining F1 in the past and Diess did confirm that they're only agreeing to join in 2026 due to the change in the regulations.
They haven't been fully decided yet but the VW boss did confirm the move closer to hybrid energy was one reason for the two brands joining, adding, "You can only get onboard if you have a major rule change.
"That's coming now, and it will also come in the direction of 2026, when the engines will be electrified to a much greater extent, including with synthetic fuels.
Advert
"That means you need a new engine development and you need three or four years to develop a new engine."
Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Ryan Sidle