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https://www.businessinsider.de/wirts...im-rennzirkus/

Audi and Porsche were supposed to partner on power units but Porsche pulled out as they developed a closer relationship with Red Bull. Audi feels betrayed by Porsche.

Speculation but Audi v. Porsche rivalry in F1 would be incredible.

Volkswagen will probably enter Formula 1 with two teams. From 2026, Audi and Porsche are expected to win in the premier class with their own engines. Insiders tell us that the group executive board and group supervisory board are expected to give the green light for the billion-euro investment in April.

Actually, Audi and Porsche wanted to save costs with a jointly developed drive train. But Porsche boss Oliver Blume is planning an exclusive partnership with Red Bull – without Audi.

Audi boss Markus Duesmann reacted emotionally to going it alone. According to participants, in meetings he complained that he had been betrayed. But now he seems to have found his way into the premier class.

The Volkswagen Group wants to enter Formula 1 with two teams. According to reports, the supervisory board is to decide on the release of the investment for "Project Speed" as early as next week. If the Group Board of Management has its way, Audi and Porsche will be competing for victory in the premier class from 2026.

Internally, the race for pole position has long since begun. The initially planned partnership between the two VW subsidiary brands has given way to a rivalry that has been heating up spirits for weeks. "The relationship between Audi boss Markus Duesmann and Porsche boss Oliver Blume is tense," says the supervisory board.

As several participants explained in discussions with Business Insider, Duesmann accused Porsche boss Blume at a meeting of the Audi control committee a few weeks ago of having betrayed him. Originally, Audi and Porsche wanted to shake up the premier class with a jointly developed powertrain. "On the home straight, Blume overtook Duesmann," says a person familiar with the process. So Porsche suddenly presented an exclusive partnership with Red Bull and sent the message: Sorry Audi, we're going to do it alone now!

Works council silenced? While MAN was cutting thousands of jobs, the truck manufacturer offered to finance his business studies in Hungary for a worker leader "Duesmann seemed visibly touched," says a top manager. After all, the Audi boss is not only the main driver behind Volkswagen's entry into Formula 1, but also an absolute motorsport specialist. From 2005 to 2009, Duesmann led the development of Formula 1 engines, first at Mercedes and then at BMW. At the beginning of the year, however, he feared that Volkswagen would enter the premier class without him.

While Porsche was able to present specific figures on the planned Red Bull deal to the group board of directors in February, group finance director Arno Antlitz tormented Audi boss Duesmann with unpleasant questions about the business case. "Against this background, Duesmann reacted very emotionally, also attacked Blume in board meetings and criticized his going it alone," an insider tells us. He is also said to have mocked the painted beverage cans that Porsche then uses to travel.

In fact, the Austrian beverage manufacturer has been a preferred partner of Volkswagen for many years. A confidential presentation from January 2008 already said: “Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Audi and Porsche plan to start developing a powertrain in 2008; racing is planned from 2011 with top positions from 2012. The Red Bull team is the racing team. The goal is a winning overall vehicle.”

For what was then “Project X1”, Audi and Porsche were supposed to set up a “Formula 1 Engineering GmbH” in which Audi had a 60 percent stake and Porsche 40 percent. "The GmbH should be located in Ingolstadt in the area of ​​Audi engine development," says the internal paper. None of this was implemented at the time because the then VW supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech allegedly did not trust the Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Ecclestone is now history and Formula 1 is facing an eco-revolution. The regulations are to be fundamentally changed from 2026. In addition to a much higher proportion of electricity in the hybrid system, a 1.6-liter V6 engine will then be fueled with synthetic fuel or biofuel. The new regulations would fit perfectly into the drive strategy of Porsche and Audi. The new set of rules, on which representatives from Audi and Porsche also contributed, should be officially adopted by the summer at the latest. Only then, everyone emphasizes, is entry into Formula 1 a clean affair.

While Porsche wants to retain a "marketing monster" in Red Bull and invest a mid three-digit million amount over the next five years, Audi is banking on the traditional British racing team McLaren and is even aiming to take over the brand. According to corporate circles, a declaration of intent to purchase is on the way. It should go to an amount beyond 500 million. Details are secret. Neither an Audi spokesman nor a Porsche spokesman wanted to comment on the whole Formula 1 process.

According to information from Business Insider, the supervisory boards of Audi and Porsche have already approved the respective plans. A first hurdle has thus been cleared. However, the vote of the Group Executive Board in the coming week is considered decisive. Most recently, however, the top management signaled that they wanted to enable both brands to enter the market. In the meantime, Audi has also been able to demonstrate that the entry would pay off financially, according to company circles. "Some questions are still open," says an insider. "But we are very optimistic." Finally, the Group's supervisory board has to approve the plan for a double Formula 1 entry in April.

This is what VW promised when it entered Formula 1 around ten years ago This is what VW promised when it entered Formula 1 around ten years ago Both VW brands expect a great advertising effect from the commitment. The growth and viewership of Formula 1 is extraordinary. The fact that interest in the premier class is now also noticeably increasing in North America should be particularly valuable for the German manufacturers. In addition, Audi and Porsche promise to be able to transfer technical innovations from Formula 1 development to series production. "Especially for Audi, this could be an opportunity to revive the old slogan 'Vorsprung durch Technik'," says a group manager.

But the decisive factor will be whether the car is successful. Because whether Red Bull Porsche or McLaren Audi - in the end only one can be at the top.