Porsche is reportedly considering a return to Formula 1 after an absence of two decades. Porsche’s motorsport reputation is mainly sports car racing through customer programs, but its new chairman Matthias Mueller made some comments last week at the Paris Motor show that Porsche is considering formula 1 in the near future. Earlier this year, it was reported the company’s German parent Volkswagen might enter the sport when the engine regulations change. At the time, it was suggested that either Audi or Porsche branding was likely. Porsche’s entry to F1 would most likely be as an engine supplier, rather than having a factory team. It would also make most sense for the company to enter the sport in 2013, when new engine regulations are set to be introduced.
Porsche has only been involved in F1 sporadically over the years. It briefly ran a team in the 1960s, with a single victory in the 1962 French Grand Prix with driver Dan Gurney. Porsche was then absent until the 1980s, when TAG paid for Porsche to create a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine for the Mclaren team – which powered driver Niki Lauda to the 1984 title and Alain Prost to the ’85 and ’86 F1 crowns.
Since then, Porsche’s only F1 involvement was in 1991 with an unsuccessful campaign with the Footwork team. Footwork’s Porsche V12 powered cars didn’t score a single point and at over half of the races it even failed to qualify. Since that year, Porsche has not participated to Formula One.
