Toto Wolff believes that the publicity garnered by Porsche entering Formula 1 would prove 'beneficial' to the remainder of the grid. The German marque had long been linked with joining forces with Red Bull and buying half the team to join as power unit supplier when the new 2026 rules come into force. However, Red Bull would still have had the deciding vote, something Porsche could not accept leading to the deal breaking down. One of the big hopes F1 had for the 2026 regulations was to lure more manufacturers into the championship, with Porsche's sister Volkswagen brand Audi taking the plunge, which was announced at the Belgian Grand Prix. Despite the Red Bull deal now off, Mercedes boss Wolff still hopes Porsche can find their way onto the grid in the future.
Porsche could delay potential entry
There is a deadline of October 15th, 2022 is prospective power units suppliers to make public their intentions to enter F1 for '26, although Wolff believes this deadline is flexible. "I don't think you need to sign up until 15 October, if you want to join in a year later," he said when asked by RacingNew365.com about the marque joining the championship. "Definitely it would be a great thing for Formula 1, if Porsche were to join, they just need to figure out if there's another interesting project or whether they can buy a team. "Maybe it's not 2026, maybe it's '27 or '28, but it would be great addition to the grid."
Everyone would benefit from Porsche
Wolff also noted the impact and benefits another household name such as Porsche joining the F1 grid would have as the German firm mulls its future. "Every large corporation especially auto companies, including Red Bull as they are pretty good at that, buys the racing team and invests large amounts of money into running it, but invests even more into activation is beneficial for Formula 1," Wolff observed. "If a brand like Porsche that is known all over the world, puts their marketing dollars into activating Formula One, we will all be benefiting. "I think this is this is the important part by not just having the team and running it but in all the markets that we race, big advertising campaigns and putting the brand out there. "That's why having these big brands in Formula 1 is important."
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