Once-dominant Formula One team Red Bull Racing has been struggling all season with it's Renault-sourced power plants—and signs seem to be pointing toward Audi coming to its rescue.
Details come from Auto Express, which writes that the key obstacle to entering F1 was recently departed chairman Ferdinand Piech, and noted that Stefano Domenicali—who ran Ferrari's F1 effort from 2008 to 2014—has been with Audi since last year. This isn't the first time rumors have swirled about the German company entering the prestigious series, with previous reports suggesting we could see an Audi on the grid as soon as 2016.
In a recent interview, current Audi chief Rupert Stadler would not confirm or deny his company's interest in F1, but the company was close to entering during the 2013 season—it balked when the F1 brass decided to go with V-6 engines as opposed to the four-cylinder units the company was championing—and has allegedly been developing an engine conforming to the new architecture for some time.
Given the phenomenal performance we've seen from the company in the world of endurance racing, we can expect that any Audi effort would be a potent competitor. Regardless, any help can't come soon enough for Red Bull, which along with poor performances on the track, recently suffered the indignity of having half of its trophies stolen.
Obviously, this is far from a done deal, but if we had to bet, our money would be on Audi entering F1, either as an engine supplier or with its own team. We'll post updates when we have more info about this exciting prospect.
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