Hyundai in F1 by 2010?

Korean car maker Hyundai is rumoured to be readying its own Formula One team to start racing by as early as the 2010 F1 season. The launch of the new team would coincide with Korea’s first F1 event, which is also scheduled for 2010, at its new circuit in the country’s south.

News publication Automobilwoche, reported that Hyundai has been planning a move in to F1 for some time now. It was originally planning to buy the old Minardi team or possibly even Jaguar or Williams, but none of these deals went through. The latest news suggests that Hyundai would likely start its own in team in a possible partnership with Samsung, and that the companies are currently in discussions with F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone.

F1’s new rules, which are reducing the costs of running a team, have made it possible for companies that previously may have avoided entering to change suit, and the move would also tie in perfectly with Hyundai’s plans to be a dominant car maker by the end of the decade. If Hyundai does enter F1, we hope that its racing technology may spur on more performance models from the Korean brand.