VW chief: Audi and Porsche will join F1

Volkswagen's premium brands Audi and Porsche will join Formula 1 after convincing the German auto-making group that the move will bring in more money than it will cost, VW chief executive Herbert Diess says.

Discussions by the board of directors about the two brands' plans had created some divisions, said Diess on Monday at an event in Wolfsburg, where the German carmaker is headquartered.

But ultimately the brands, which next to VW's China business are the group's most important income suppliers, made the case that they would pull in more money for Wolfsburg with a Formula 1 commitment than without one, according to Diess.

"You just run out of arguments," he said.

There has been speculation for several months that the two brands were negotiating partnerships to enter the highest class of international motor racing, which for much of the last decade has been dominated by Volkswagen's German rival Mercedes.

Diess, who said on Monday that Porsche's preparations for entering Formula 1 were a little more concrete than Audi's, also explained that the timing of the decision has been heavily impacted by the sport's new engine regulations that will come in for the 2026 season.

"As Markus Duesman (Audi chairman) always tells me, you usually make up one second per season on a medium-sized race track simply by optimising details," Diess added.

"But you can't catch up on that when you join a new team: you need five or 10 years to be among the front runners. In other words, you can only get onboard if you have a major rule change.

"That's coming now, and it will also come in the direction of 2026, when the engines will be electrified to a much greater extent, including with synthetic fuels. That means you need a new engine