The rumormills, paddock whispers, and back-room media talk has been chock full of talk of the Volkswagen Group, potentially through Audi or Porsche, re-entering Formula 1 for months now. Unfortunately, the hope for a VW-backed F1 team is dead in the water according to the latest reports.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech has decided not to approve an F1 bid. The Deutsche Presse-Agentur agency has also received word from VW Group headquarters that "there are no concrete plans (for F1)."

Those are fairly stark statements of the matter, but the lack of any official word out of VW's motorsports chief Hans Stuck keeps it from having the official imprimatur. Stuck's silence may be due to ongoing discussions.

Stuck had said last month that VW would hold talks on whether to enter F1 sometime in November, and it's early in the month yet.

At this point, it's not looking good for a VW entry into F1, but without official confirmation, it can't be taken completely off the table. Even if F1 is ruled out, however, remember: there's always NASCAR.

[GMMF1]