Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess has confirmed that the group's Board of Management has voted in favour of Audi and Porsche entering F1 in 2026.
Although official confirmation of the two manufacturers' commitment to F1 is still pending, Diess endorsed the plan in a YouTube video while speaking to residents of the city of Wolfsburg where VW is based.
During the meeting, the German executive was queried on the group's plan to join motorsport's elite, and said that Formula 1's booming global success coupled with the start of a new engine regulation cycle in 2026 provided Audi and Porsche with a timely opportunity to join the grid.
"Formula 1 is developing extremely positively worldwide," said Diess. "The marketing that is happening there, plus Netflix, has led to Formula 1's following growing significantly in the U.S. as well.
"Asia is growing significantly, including among young customer groups. If you look at the major sporting events or events in the world, it's the case that in motorsport, it's really only Formula 1 that counts and is becoming increasingly differentiated.
"If you do motorsport, you should do Formula 1 as that's where the impact is greatest."
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Diess emphasized that timing a brand's entry into F1 with the introduction of a new set of regulations, which will be the case in 2026, offers a manufacturer the best chances of success.
"You can't enter Formula 1 unless a technology window opens up which means, in order to get in there, a rule change: so that everyone starts again from the same place," he said.
"As Markus Duesman [the chairman of Audi and the former head of BMW F1 powertrains] always tells me, you usually make up one second per season on a medium-sized race track simply by optimising details.
"But you can't catch up on that when you join a new team: you need five or 10 years to be among the front runners. In other words, 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.
"That means you need a new engine development and you need three or four years to develop a new engine.
"That means you can decide now to do Formula 1 - or then probably not again for 10 years. And our two premium brands think that's the right thing to do and are prioritising it."
Diess confirmed that VW will entrust its F1 interests exclusively to Audi and Porsche, meaning the parental brand will have no involvement in F1.
"VW will not be involved," he said. "It doesn't fit and the brand will not participate.
"Porsche has to be the sportiest car brand in the world – so Porsche has to do motorsport.
"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.
"Audi is a much weaker brand than Porsche. It can't demand such a high price premium," he added. "Audi actually has the better case for Formula 1 because it has much greater potential for the brand.
"They are moving into the higher segments, into competition with Daimler, and then Audi will also have a case where they say that makes sense.
"Audi also transfers four or five billion a year to Wolfsburg, and it will also transfer more with Formula 1 than without.
"Then you simply run out of arguments. You can say, 'But I don't believe in Formula 1,' but there are good arguments that say Formula 1 will grow, even in the future. Why should you restrict them, if they then deliver more money?"
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A candid Diess admitted that not everyone on VW's Board supported the idea of Audi and Porsche entering F1 given the automobile industry's massive paradigm shift towards electrification.
"The discussion on the Board was not unanimous," he reveled. "We certainly have other priorities strategically.
"It's not necessarily motorsport, but our cars have to be technically up to date, we have to be able to drive autonomously, we need the software capabilities, we need batteries for our cars.
"We have enough to do and we don't really need to do Formula 1.
"But our premium brands say that's the most important lever to increase the brand value and to be able to take a little bit more for the cars in terms of pricing. And also to demonstrate to the competition that you have superior technology, in the case of Audi.
"That's why the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board have all voted in favour of this. Audi still has to decide in which constellation and with which team. But both have started to develop engines."
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