The number one of the sports department of the German company outlines the projects, between the return to the premier class of the WEC and the commitment to Formula E, up to electric GTs and Formula 1. “We are at the table with the FIA”
The near future of Porsche Motorsport? A mosaic that could lead to Formula 1, but which for now will continue to include racing in Gran Turismo cars derived from the series and competitions with Formula E electric single-seaters. Absolute news, however, are on the way: certainty is called LmdH like Le Mans Daytona Hybrid, the new platform of hybrid prototypes, with which the German manufacturer will compete in the World Endurance WEC (and in America in Imsa) fighting for the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While the Zuffenhausen house does not rule out a future commitment to Formula 1. Topics that were at the center of the round table with Thomas Laudenbach, 53-year-old German engineer, new head of Porsche Motorsport from October 2021.
PORSCHE AND FORMULA 1: THE SITUATION
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Formula 1 from 2025 should introduce the new technical regulation for hybrid engines, facilitating the access of new manufacturers. Will we see an official Porsche team in the circus? “It is no secret – said Laudenbach – that we spoke with the FIA and other interested parties. We cannot add anything else, but in any case I repeat it is no secret our interest in F1 and we will soon find out if we plan to compete in the series from 2025 or 2026 ”. Clear words, therefore, that certify what had been learned between summer and autumn 2021, with representatives from Porsche (and from other manufacturers, including Audi) who had sat down at the working table with the leaders of the FIA and F1. “We are in the working group – added the Porsche Motorsport number one – The nodes to deal with? The costs and, from the technical side, the proportions of the electric motor (compared to the thermal, Ed) in the hybrid powertrain. The most important thing, also looking to the future of the electric vehicles that the houses will sell, is that Formula 1 does not change direction on the issue of electrification ”. Among the key points outlined during the meeting there are also the expense items (“which must always be under control”) and the communication potential (“F1 is an excellent way in terms of image and relations with the fan base” ).
COMMITMENT IN FORMULA E
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Meanwhile, despite a showcase not particularly brilliant so far – four podiums in 26 races – Porsche will remain in the Formula E World Championship. to win races in Formula E and to win the championship. We are actively engaged in this series and we will continue to be: there is a future of growth, it is a unique championship for battery electric cars with world-wide resonance. We need it, and maybe we will need one or two other additional championships of this type, because the important thing is to push electrified racing ”. The vision of Porsche Motorsport’s number one, therefore, includes racing with electrified, hybrid and battery-electric cars, with a vision that sums up multiple championships. Can we imagine a new international series for electric GTs, perhaps in support of the WEC World Championship? “For us the e-GTs are very important, given that we produce them and that we are committed to electrification, cars that today as today from a technical point of view give ample opportunities to the manufacturers. A championship for electric GTs would be possible and interesting, and I think it’s only a matter of time for it to arrive. We will be happy with it. But we must consider one aspect – he added – If you spend a lot of money you do it for a main series, and not as a support to another championship. A new series for electric GTs that should therefore be promoted well to have a return ”.
PORSCHE IN THE WEC
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Meanwhile, after showing the Mission R concept in Monaco in September 2021, a racing car with two electric motors for a maximum power of over a thousand horsepower, designed as a platform for customer racing (“born to race, and we are working to achieve that possibility: it is a car for private customers ”), Porsche is preparing to return to the“ premier ”class of the WEC from 2023. While no participation in the Dakar is currently planned. “We chose the LmdH platform (two-wheel drive and the choice of the frame by one of the authorized external companies in order to contain costs, Ed): speaking as an engineer I would have preferred something like the previous Lmp1 with the 919 Hybrid, where we were champions, but as a business man for a budget question I know it would have been complicated. With the LmdH prototypes, the important thing for us is to really transfer technological and engineering elements from the track to the road cars – Laudenbach goes into detail – The LmdH platform also has the advantage of being able to be used in the WEC and Imsa in America, an aspect that it was essential in our choice: when we made this choice we already had this certainty which is essential for us ”. When will Porsche bring the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid prototype to the track? The countdown has already begun, with the car that will start running before Christmas 2021 “during tests that will aim to verify if all systems, on the whole, will work properly, certainly not to seek the best time on the round”.
November 3 – 2:58 pm
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