Porsche spice can only benefit Formula 1
WE DON’T USUALLY BEGIN AN AUTOSPORT editorial talking about a besuited Porsche executive. But, when the Stuttgart manufacturer’s deputy chairman Lutz Meschke arrived at Monza during last month’s Italian Grand Prix to meet Formula 1’s bosses, the rumour mill went into overdrive. Was Porsche coming back, and in what form – team or engine supplier?
The answer is: we still don’t know. And, in all likelihood, neither do Meschke or his colleagues – yet. But the capture of such a glamorous, prestige manufacturer would be a coveted feather in the cap for F1. Much depends on the outcome of discussions concerning the engine regulations that will be introduced in 2021, but there are so many other factors to consider, as Edd Straw details in our cover feature on page 18. Of course, success can never be guaranteed, and you can read Adam Cooper’s sorry tale of Porsche’s last F1 involvement in 1991 on p24.
Elsewhere in the magazine, you can read Matt James’s review of a gripping BTCC season won by Ash Sutton and the Team BMR Subaru squad, and of how Toyota conquered the elements in a traditional weather-affected Fuji WEC round. But perhaps the most noteworthy achievement is that of Lando Norris, the first Briton to be crowned as FIA Formula 3 European champion, and the first from these shores to win any Euro F3 title since Paul di Resta in 2006. Congratulations to our 2016 Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award winner and the Carlin boys and girls down in Farnham, who’ve enjoyed such a successful season in so many categories!