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Stefano Domenicali to Lamborghini?


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#1 Widefoot2

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 14:44

http://autoweek.com/...gn=awdailydrive

 

Could lay the groundwork of a new F1 entry if Volkswagen decides it's a good way to recover some positive publicity for the company?



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#2 Victor_RO

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 14:56

Yes, and Ben Ainslie is going to start a F1 team with Martin Whitmarsh's help.

 

I don't know why people keep reading F1 plans in every single one of Domenicali's moves.

 

EDIT: And reading his quotes in the article, it doesn't sound at all like a person who is put there to mastermind a F1 program.



#3 7WDC

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 14:57

http://autoweek.com/...gn=awdailydrive

 

Could lay the groundwork of a new F1 entry if Volkswagen decides it's a good way to recover some positive publicity for the company?

 

That would be good news.

To me the Lambo V12 was the most powerfull engine of that time and produced a magnificent sound (90/94 IRC).


Edited by 7WDC, 16 December 2015 - 14:59.


#4 Cirio

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 14:57

I'd be surprised if the VW group would commit to that sort of outlay given the emissions scandal. It would be three years before they started winning anything, and they could look at Honda and see what heppened to them...

 

Still, stranger things have happened.



#5 RedBaron

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 14:58

I've got to give it you man, I didn't see it right away, you got me. Had I known this was another topic about Volkswagon entering F1 I wouldn't have clicked on it.



#6 Marklar

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 15:01

Like it was groundwork of a new F1 entry for Audi? Oh wait....

#7 LuckyStrike1

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 15:07

Maybe he will just work for Lamborghini? 



#8 Widefoot2

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 15:30

Ok, I get it - sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  I am suitably chastened...



#9 noikeee

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 15:49

I understand why people are skeptical of the VW group ever coming into F1, specially now, but I wouldn't completely dismiss Domenicali's moves as necessarily coincidental neither.
 
For a start how do we know Audi WASN'T coming into F1 before the diesel scandal? Wasn't it generally agreed before the scandal broke out, that this was the closest VW had ever been to actually coming in? There was the power struggle at board level with the guy that was opposed to F1 eventually leaving, we had Red Bull directly saying this was a possibility, there were rumours Mercedes didn't want to give them engines to avoid secrets falling in VW's hands etc.
 
I think it's quite plausible Domenicali is now being moved away from Audi exactly because this plan fell apart. Now, whether this means there's a new plan for Lambo I'm not so sure of. Saward thinks it might mean something. I think if you're a big manufacturer interested in F1 and suddenly faced with a large scandal, it might be easier to launch a small scale branding plan, or build a mildly competitive engine without expectations of winning races with a brand whose participation by itself would boost it, rather than take Mercedes head-on with your rival mainstream brand and risk damaging it. So at the moment Lamborghini F1 makes far more sense than Audi F1, whereas the opposite was true 6 months ago.
 
Still I'm not sure this is viable, as building a mildly competitive engine would still be hugely expensive at a time VW can't afford to splash on many vain operations (although the R&D benefits of F1 could still be worth it - it's not like VW are going to stop building cars now and don't need the tech anymore). Domenicali going there might mean Lambo F1, as well as it might mean Lambo to take over some minor formula feeder series (ex like we had Formula BMW or Formula Renault), or it might mean Lambo to enter some other GT car program. Or yes, it might be a job completely unrelated to motorsport.

Edited by noikeee, 16 December 2015 - 15:53.


#10 TennisUK

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 16:45

To me the Lambo V12 was the most powerfull engine of that time and produced a magnificent sound (90/94 IRC).

It sounded great, but it certainly wasn't the most powerful. It was also crude in terms of drivability and drank oil (and petrol) at a ferocious rate. Did have a bit of ptential though. Sadly the days of V12s were pretty much numbered by 1994...



#11 Marklar

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 16:48

Joe Saward thinks it might mean something? He has almost reach the creditability of TJ13, so it means that it doesnt mean anything :p

#12 JHSingo

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 16:56

Please, can we just accept that a VW F1 entry is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN under any guise any time soon and maybe move on?

 

I mean, how many times does VW have to say they're not interested before people finally understand? :p



#13 pUs

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 19:13

Joe Saward thinks it might mean something? He has almost reach the creditability of TJ13, so it means that it doesnt mean anything :p

 

Nope ;) it means about as much as it did when he insisted that the famous Quantum cheque was still in the mail, long after it was painfully obvious to everybody what was going on. Very funny with all the insults though. "Any idiot can google! I'm a real journalist!"  :mad:  :mad:  :|  :lol:


Edited by pUs, 16 December 2015 - 19:14.


#14 FLB

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 22:10

 

I understand why people are skeptical of the VW group ever coming into F1, specially now, but I wouldn't completely dismiss Domenicali's moves as necessarily coincidental neither.
 
For a start how do we know Audi WASN'T coming into F1 before the diesel scandal? Wasn't it generally agreed before the scandal broke out, that this was the closest VW had ever been to actually coming in? There was the power struggle at board level with the guy that was opposed to F1 eventually leaving, we had Red Bull directly saying this was a possibility, there were rumours Mercedes didn't want to give them engines to avoid secrets falling in VW's hands etc.
 
I think it's quite plausible Domenicali is now being moved away from Audi exactly because this plan fell apart. Now, whether this means there's a new plan for Lambo I'm not so sure of. Saward thinks it might mean something. I think if you're a big manufacturer interested in F1 and suddenly faced with a large scandal, it might be easier to launch a small scale branding plan, or build a mildly competitive engine without expectations of winning races with a brand whose participation by itself would boost it, rather than take Mercedes head-on with your rival mainstream brand and risk damaging it. So at the moment Lamborghini F1 makes far more sense than Audi F1, whereas the opposite was true 6 months ago.
 
Still I'm not sure this is viable, as building a mildly competitive engine would still be hugely expensive at a time VW can't afford to splash on many vain operations (although the R&D benefits of F1 could still be worth it - it's not like VW are going to stop building cars now and don't need the tech anymore). Domenicali going there might mean Lambo F1, as well as it might mean Lambo to take over some minor formula feeder series (ex like we had Formula BMW or Formula Renault), or it might mean Lambo to enter some other GT car program. Or yes, it might be a job completely unrelated to motorsport.

 

I could also mean that Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini's current CEO, is moving elsewhere within the VW empire. Where? There is a man named Wolfgang Dürheimer who is currently the CEO of Bentley and Bugatti. Dürheimer is (was) one of Ferdiand Piëch's favourites. Where was he in 2006-7 when supposedly the decision to go with the diesel push in the US was made (you know, the key decision that has led to Dieselgate/Abgas-Skandal)? Well, Herr Dürheimer was apparently nowhere near, so he's clean. And if he *is* clean, he's going to go all the way up.

 

My own personal theory is that Winkelmann is being moved to Bentley/Bugatti because 1) Dürheimer is being promoted; 2) Domenicali is going to take Winkelmann's place at Lambo.

 

 

This has nothing to do with motorsports.

 

http://dailykanban.c...fully-ignorant/


Edited by FLB, 16 December 2015 - 22:12.


#15 Peter0Scandlyn

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 22:53

Yes, and Ben Ainslie is going to start a F1 team with Martin Whitmarsh's help.

 

I don't know why people keep reading F1 plans in every single one of Domenicali's moves.

 

EDIT: And reading his quotes in the article, it doesn't sound at all like a person who is put there to mastermind a F1 program.

 

It's akin to the Ross Brawn effect.......



#16 maverick69

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Posted 17 December 2015 - 10:45

Also, having Lamborghini run by an Italian, ex Ferrari guy has a certain historical irony - and a broader appeal to it.

#17 RedBaron

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Posted 23 February 2016 - 12:27

http://www.motorspor...ini-ceo-675131/

 

Stefano Domenicali has been confirmed as the new president and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini SpA.

The former Ferrari team principal, who left Maranello in 2014 after a 23-year career with the Scuderia, succeeds Stephan Winkelman at the helm of the Volkswagen Group-owned brand.
 
...
 
Domenicali joined Audi in late 2014, and is believed to have been tasked with a feasibility study for a potential future F1 programme.
The 50 year-old Italian will formerly take up his position as president and CEO on March 15th.

Edited by RedBaron, 23 February 2016 - 12:29.


#18 Marklar

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Posted 23 February 2016 - 12:30

So where is the Lamborghini to F1 thread?



#19 RedBaron

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Posted 23 February 2016 - 12:31

So where is the Lamborghini to F1 thread?

 

I think that comes under one of the 50 Audi to F1 threads  :p