Porsche and the Volkswagen Group are ready to "evaluate" an involvement in Formula 1, but only if the sport's future engine regulations include compelling "aspects of sustainability".
Formula 1 is set to initiate a new power unit cycle from 2025, and while it has yet to define the future unit's exact specifications, the latter will include a significant hybrid component.
But as part of the sport's plan to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2030, F1 and the FIA are also keen on introducing a mandatory 100% sustainable fuel along with the sport's next powertrain architecture.
And such an initiative would prove appealing to Porsche according to its Motorsport vice-president Fritz Enzinger who commented on the matter to the BBC.
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"It would be of great interest if aspects of sustainability - for instance, the implementation of e-fuels - play a role in this," Enzinger told BBC Sport.
"Should these aspects be confirmed, we will evaluate them in detail within the VW Group and discuss further steps."
In December, the FIA announced that it had delivered to F1's power unit manufacturers for testing the first barrels of a biofuel developed by the governing body.
It's currently uncertain if the e-fuel's development would allow it to be suitable for an introduction as early as 2025, but Porsche has been kept abreast of F1's future engine plans by "senior F1 figures" according to the BBC's report.
"Porsche and Volkswagen AG are observing the constantly changing regulations in all relevant racing series around the world," Enzinger said. "This is also the case with regard to the emerging new engine and drivetrain regulation for Formula 1 from 2025."
Porsche, which is present in the ABB FIA Formula E Series, could consider an entry into F1 either as a competitor or as an engine supplier. It is believed, according to the BBC's report, that the Volkswagen Group has held "exploratory talks" with Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Williams.
Red Bull and Porsche, and Audi, have been the subject of rumours in the past. Red Bull has committed to taking over Honda's engine program from 2022 for a period of three years after which the energy drink company's teams, RBR and AlphaTauri, could partner with a new engine supplier.
Interestingly, both McLaren and Williams are managed by former key figures from Porsche and VW.
McLaren F1 boss Andreas Seidl was the chief architect of Porsche's massively successful LMP1 program in the WEC, while Williams' recently appointed chief executive Jost Capito managed VW Motorsport division from 2012 to 2016.
However, a potential engine partnership between McLaren and Porsche could be viewed as a non-starter by the latter as the former is a road-car competitor to the Stuttgart manufacturer.
So, Red Bull or Williams? Or perhaps it's just another F1 reverie...
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