Audi CEO: ‘Porsche is building another F1 engine’

In addition to Audi, sister brand Porsche will also enter Formula 1 as of 2026. Then the question arises: how much will the power sources of the two Volkswagen Group manufacturers resemble each other. Well, if we are to believe Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, they will be two completely different F1 engines. Now that Audi has announced that it will build its own engines in Neuburg, it was already a bit in the air, but now the confirmation is there. The Porsche F1 engine really becomes its own project and not an Audi engine with a different logo on it.

According to Motorsport.com Duesmann gives a clear explanation for this in Belgium. The CEO states that there have been ‘intense discussions’ about it, but that in the end running two separate engine programs was considered the most sensible. According to Duesmann, this has to do with the fact that the power sources will be hung in completely different chassis. It is more sensible to design a power source that fits the car perfectly than to have to design the car around the engine. The second is something that Red Bull ran into, for example, when it was still using Renault engines. The approach of Audi and Porsche ensures that the teams (probably Sauber and Red Bull respectively) can achieve the best possible marriage between the chassis and the engine.

The two brands will therefore compete against each other in Formula 1 and that is special. It costs the Volkswagen Group more money at the bottom than if it had housed the two operations under one roof. However, there is an important advantage: innovations from F1 will flow back to the company’s car brands from two angles. Porsche may have an important advantage over Audi. Where Audi at all from scratch Porsche is very likely to join Red Bull Powertrains for the development of its F1 engine.