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Audi to Formula One? – Inevitable

Le Mans victory for Audi 2014 [Photo by Audi Motorsport]

By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

With all the rumors flying around about Audi making the transition to Formula One by 2016, it is time to make some basic assumptions. First, where there is smoke, there is usually fire. In this case, there is a lot of smoke.

Audi has achieved just about everything possible in DTM and FIA-WEC sports car racing over the years, amassing a record of wins and championships that would be the envy of any auto manufacturer. What else is there to prove?

With sister brand Porsche now in play in the LMP1 category of the WEC, what sense does it make for Audi (also under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group) to continue to spend hundreds of millions of Euros every year just to duplicate the successes that they have had in the past?

Audi is known in the US for winning Le Mans, not so much for winning FIA championships and racing in the DTM. Granted, the DTM in Europe draws huge crowds and the impact of winning Le Mans year after year on the world stage can’t be minimized. However, if you keep doing it year to year, what more do you have to prove?

The endurance race cars that Audi has built and campaigned over the past decade or so have been nothing short of remarkable. From the original R8R, to the R8, R10, R15 and now the latest generation of the R18, they have put together a record that will stand the test of time. Audi has permanently earned its place as a legend in motorsports history.

Perhaps the timing is right to stop, or more correctly, move on. The current R18 is near the end of its life cycle – the Toyota is currently the fastest car and the new Porsche 919 will soon be winning. An updated R18 can perhaps be prepared for next season, but an all new (and massively expensive) new prototype must be designed and built for 2016 and beyond. And you have to wonder what the Board of Directors at Volkswagen Group has to say about all of that. Beating Toyota is one thing, but spending hundreds of millions of Euros to defeat sister brand Porsche?

We have had the good fortune of following Audi’s success in sports car racing throughout the years and have seen many tremendous victories, put together by the most outstanding group of drivers and teams ever assembled for sports car racing. The Le Mans victories, the Sebring victories, the American Le Mans championships – they are all the stuff of legend.

Drivers such as the incomparable Tom Kristensen with his 9 Le Mans victories, along with legends such as Dindo Capello, Emanuele Pirro, Allan McNish, Marco Werner, Frank Biela and new heroes such as Marcel Fassler, Mike Rockenfeller, Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Lucas de Grassi have all made their mark driving for the four rings of Audi.

The legendary Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich has guided this juggernaut through success after success, and has earned his place at the top rung of motorsport.

But again it must be asked – what is next? The only answer is Formula One. With a worldwide television audience that is massive compared to the total number of people who watch sports car racing worldwide, to the huge crowds at the events that dwarf all events but Le Mans, Formula One is the next logical step.

It is time for the four rings of Auto Union to take the next step, to make the jump to Formula One. Given their history and previous success in all forms of racing, Audi will make a huge impact on Grand Prix racing, and sooner rather than later.

Right now, Formula One needs Audi. And Audi needs Formula One.

So will Audi go to Formula One in 2016? Time will tell. We are betting on it.

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