Volkswagen Group supremo Herbert Diess confirmed recently the German conglomerate's desire to enter Formula 1 with Porsche and Audi. It won't happen until 2026 when a new set of regulations will overhaul the competition (again), which will see combustion engines switch to entirely synthetic fuel. Our friends at BMWBLOG were curious to find out whether Bayerische Motoren Werke AG wants to rejoin the fray in roughly four years' time.
Unfortunately, the peeps from Bavaria have no such intentions as BMW M boss Frank Van Meel said the motorsport side of the M division has "no ambitions for Formula 1." Explaining why the company won't make a return after 2009 when it parted ways with Sauber, the M boss said it has to do with regulations pertaining to powertrains:
"For us, it's really important to have the [electrification] story of transformation embraced as fast as possible. Formula 1 is still discussing the regulations around electrification. So, for us, it was very clear. Let's go faster into that [electrification] segment."
Instead, the company is heavily investing in its Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) racer, which is now expected to hit the track for the 2024 season as a 2023 entry has been ruled out. Even without reentering F1, BMW will still have to face the VW Group since Lamborghini, Porsche, and Audi are all working on LMDh projects. Joining them will be Acura, Cadillac, Alpine, and Peugeot.
Beyond its LMDh program, BMW's motorsport division also has the M4 GT3 race car, with the GT4 version to be unveiled in mid-June at the VIRginia International Raceway during rounds five and six of the 2022 SRO Americas Championship. There's also the entry-level M2 CS Racing, which is based on the old M2 F87. The compact sports coupe in the road-going guise will transition to the G87 model in the coming months.
Also in June, BMWBLOG has it on good authority a new teaser image for the LMDh race car will be released.
