Why Porsche doesn't race in F1

At first thought, Porsche racing in F1 makes a lot of sense. And yet, it's never happened. So, why doesn't Porsche race in Formula One?

Twitter: @formulajohn_

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Music by Epidemic Sound

[ChristianStout]

"They don't sell cars, they sell engineering."

That's such a cool thing to say about _any_ company. I hope I can work for a firm like that someday.

[larryw.c.]

Years ago, I happened to meet a Porsche factory rep at a race at Hochenheim in Germany. One of the things he told me was that Porsche would very much like to stop production on 911s, but they can't. When I asked him why, he just laughed and said " Because the public won't let us "
Well said.

[tjwaines]

Porsche actually did used to be in F1, they used to build engines for McLaren in the early 1980’s. Those were the 1.5 litre turbo’d V6’s known as the TAG engines. They won 1984, 85 and 86 with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost at the wheel.

[hoffmaestro]

I’m so humbled to be in touch with all the Porsche enthusiasts here like it’s a community that you’ve never thought you’d get in touch with anywhere. Keep making great videos like this it really brings people together, kudos!

[joshjmilli]

I really hope the 911 will forever exist. I couldn’t see an automotive world without it.

[apophisstr]

Yea, there's literally no real reason for Porsche to join F1 other than flexing their brand, and it's a very expensive flex if they start from scratch (hence why they tried to purchase RBPT because it's already proven to be a very strong platform)

[VinayakPande]

Imagine how much faster an F1 car not conforming to any regulations would be than the 919 Tribute considering that an F1 car lapped Spa faster than it in qualifying.

[hazard]

I've been seeing Porsche ads on Reddit saying things like "original is everything". I got a good laugh out of that because it's pretty well known that most Porsche cars look alike, strikingly similar at that. But watching this video has given me a new respect for the brand and a new understanding of why they all look so similar. They've nearly perfected the modern sports car and the shape was almost the Paragon right from the get-go.

[cx]

Idk what everyone else thinks, but I think it would help people click on your videos more if you changed the background color of the thumbnail. The current yellow color is not very appealing and I find myself wanting to skip past it. The content was great once again though, keep it up! Edit: the thumbnail has been changed since this comment. It used to have a yellow background

[JohnWarren]

As per a few of your comments, I've changed the thumbnail of this video to something hopefully a bit more visually appealing - let me know what you think of the new thumbnail and if there's anything else I can do to make it better!

[carstenrenekjrulff]

Porsche did however provide an engine for Formula One: This engine powered the McLaren MP4/2 that Niki Lauda took to the F1 world title in 1984, before Alain Prost followed up on that success with back-to-back championships in 1985-86.
The 'TAG Turbo - made by Porsche' powerplant won a total of 25 grands prix in 1984-87.

[siegfriedladnorg]

I bought my first Porsche 911 in 1973 and now, after 50 years I still drive a 911 4 S - at the age of 76. For me, there is no other car I would be interested in driving. Thank you for your great report.

[ryutenken]

They could join as an engine supplier to Andretti the partnership exists in formula e, the only issue there is to convince the other teams which is unlikely.

[kaytoracer]

Whilst they are known for using the flat six engine, they can build a good V unit too. Plus from next year they'll be racing with an E- fuels in the WEC with the 963 hypercar. Porsche doesn't need F1 but F1 needs someone like Porsche. Porsche picked sportscar racing as it's where they belong.

[dpsss]

There are so many holes in the author's arguments and he glosses over many facts. He uses Mercedes and Renault as examples of teams who are in F1 mainly to sell road cars, and apparently, in his opinion, Porsche isn't like them (not to say better) but fails to include the biggest team in F1 which is Ferrari, and which is not only much more similar to Porsche but a bigger sports car brand too, and yet the video does its best to try to ignore Ferrari being in F1 because that will blow away so many of its weak points.

[jeffi]

Everything being as it is, I’d still very very very much love to see Porsche enter into F-1 just as long as it takes for them to stand on the top middle podium and win the constructors championship ! I think they should do it just for the fun and sport of it, they’ve got the money that’s for certain. And it might not help them sell more cars, but I think / believe the short amount of time it would take for Porsche to enter its first F-1 season and then to stand on top of the center podium wouldn’t take very long at all. And to be able to watch Porsche enter into F-1 stand on the center top podium and take the constructor’s championship wouldn’t take maybe two seasons at best. The bragging rights alone would be worth every penny, and I do believe that it would also increase Porsches car sells .I know it will never happen but I’d sure love to see it.

[EdwardVelez]

I own a 2003 Boxter and it has almost 100k miles and it still runs great. My dad bought it as the second owner. I haven't taken as much care of it as I probably should have but still. I love the brand so much. There's just something about owning a Porsche that just feels nice. A buddy of mine owns a 2022 and I've driven it a few times and there's no feeling like it in the world.

[shineskopes]

This video was beautiful. You really just proved why Porsche is THE best automotive manufacturer. This video is amazingly written. Keep up the good work John!

[enzSa]

No clue how it felt like I had 50 minutes of information in 9 minutes and it didn’t feel rushed. Instant subscriber

[allyhrjk]

Porsche reminds me of Michelin when they were offered to make tires for F1 and refused because they didn't want to build tires that WOULDNT last long. They wanted technology that could transfer over to road cars and F1 would pretty much just be a PR move/flex, one that they didn't need because of all the other forms of racing they get involved in and their good reputation for everyday use by consumers.
Porsche is kinda at the same point with F1, and I think it speaks great volume about the role and place of F1.
F1 seems less and less relevant to our period and our society needs, there are already categories for those new applications (Formula E, WEC, GT3, Dakar...), no shoes for them to fill in. F1 is bound to become completely irrelevant and a pure "Show Sport". I think Liberty Media understand this and that kinda explains all the different decision they've made since they came in.