Despite Ferdinand Porsche’s legacy of designing Grand Prix cars for Mercedes and Auto Union in the 1920s and 1930s, Porsche AG never became a works team in single-seater racing during this era.
Notable Team Members and Drivers
Dan Gurney: Gurney drove for Porsche in Formula One during the early 1960s. He achieved Porsche’s first and only F1 win as a constructor at the 1962 French Grand Prix, driving the Porsche 804.
Jo Bonnier: The Swedish driver was another key figure for Porsche in Formula One, racing with the team for several seasons but never achieving the same level of success as Gurney.
Ferdinand Porsche: Although better known for his role in founding the Porsche automotive brand, Ferdinand Porsche would see the company run a motorsport division, including in Formula One, both as an engine supplier and constructor.
In the late 1950s, the two-seater Porsche 718 RSK was adapted for Formula 2 by moving to a single-seat variation, eventually leading to the development of a proper single-seater version. These 1500 cc cars achieved some success and were promoted to Formula One in 1961, where the design struggled to compete.
In 1962, the marque introduced the flat-eight-powered Porsche 804, which gave Porsche its sole victory as a constructor in a championship race, with Dan Gurney winning the French Grand Prix and achieving another triumph in a non-championship race in Stuttgart. However, Porsche exited F1 at the end of the 1962 season, citing high costs and a lack of interest from Volkswagen and local suppliers, as F1’s relevance to road cars was minimal. Private teams continued to use the older Porsche 718 in F1 until 1964.
Porsche returned triumphantly to Formula 1 in 1983 after a nearly twenty-year break, supplying McLaren with V6 turbo engines branded as TAG, thanks to funding from the electronics firm. Despite the engines being wide for F1’s aerodynamic demands, the partnership yielded two constructors’ championships and three drivers’ championships between 1984 and 1987, with the engines delivering 25 race wins. Despite their success, the TAG-Porsche engines weren’t the most powerful, lacking the high turbo boost capabilities of their rivals, and no special qualifying engines were developed. However, McLaren still managed several pole positions and front-row starts.
Porsche made another comeback in 1991 as an engine supplier with the Footwork Arrows team. However, the team were unsuccessful, plagued by the overweight and underpowered Porsche 3512 engine, leading to Porsche’s withdrawal from F1 again.
Decades later, during the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Porsche hinted at a return to Formula 1, contrasting Audi’s stance that F1 was not a suitable platform for them.
In May 2022, the Volkswagen Group announced Porsche and Audi’s planned entry into F1, with Porsche seeking to acquire a 50% stake in Red Bull Racing. Despite initial approvals and trademark registrations hinting at Porsche’s F1 ambitions, negotiations with Red Bull collapsed, and sadly by March 2023, Porsche confirmed it would not join Formula 1 in 2026.
Porsche Formula One World Championship Records
| First entry | 1957 German Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| Races entered | 32 |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 1 |
| Podiums | 5 |
| Points | 269 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 1962 United States Grand Prix |
Porsche Championship Results
The World Constructor’s Championship was not awarded until 1958.
| Year | Name | Car | Drivers | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957* | Porsche | Porsche RS550 | Edgar Barth Umberto Maglioli | – | – |
| 1958* | Porsche | Porsche RSK | Edgar Barth | 0 | NC |
| 1959 | Porsche | Porsche 718 Behra-Porsche RSK (F2) | Wolfgang von Trips Maria Teresa de Filippis | 0 0 | NC NC |
| 1960 | Porsche | Porsche 718 | Hans Herrmann Edgar Barth | 1 | 7th |
| 1961 | Porsche | Porsche 718 Porsche 787 | Jo Bonnier Dan Gurney Hans Herrmann Edgar Barth | 22 | 3rd |
| 1962 | Porsche | Porsche 804 Porsche 718 | Jo Bonnier Dan Gurney Phil Hill | 18 | 5th |
