Dumped? They spent almost 20 years in the top endurance class and before that in rally. Of course it’d be great to have them come back to Le Mans, but let them try F1 now. It could be great, bad, or decent. Let them move on.
The question is, in this case, will they rejoin soon enough or will they miss the big wave? At this point, the class is so stuffed full, there may not be any room left for the Ingolstadt brand.
Well, Aston didn't completely abandon their other Motorsport commitments the way Audi did when they went to F1 so... Audi seem more committed to leaving everything else behind
1 Point missed, is that the Audi CEO not only canceld the lmdh programm but also destroyed the Customer programm which was working amazingly good. Now Audi will only have a Dakar and F1 Programm. What a shame for all Audi fans like me
Frankly, that's absurd. Audi and Porsche are known for sportscar racing, not F1 or single-seater racing. That's what they're known for and good at. To throw it all away for a chance at F1 is asinine. Lamborghini should have been sent to F1 instead if 1 VW Group brand had to be. Andretti and Cadillac also should be in F1, but they only want American races and sponsors; not American race teams
This is B.S. The WEC and IMSA are WAAAAAY more exciting than Formula One! If I'm having trouble sleeping all I have to do is put on a F1 race and I'm asleep in 10min. WAAAY to much hype for a global, multi-million dollar spec series. I don't care if they came here to the US three times last year. Way to much drama!!
@@mclarenm1 that's your opinion, many think differently so why not try to accept that people like different things and it takes away nothing from what you like
There is no way these resources were going to go to waste just like that. If anything, I could see Bentley picking up the project essentially where Audi left off and running the car as a Bentley instead. Ofc, they’d have to redesign it slightly to conform with Bentley design language, but it could be done, but only if Bentley asks very nicely, and idk if they’re gonna do that
Given the amount of shared technology between Audi's and Porsche's LMDh, I don't think it's coincidential that Porsche has been able to deliver 4 costumer 963's on top of the Porsche Penske works entries so quickly. Someone would have to look at it in detail, but it wouldn't surprise me if there has been a transfer between brands
I personally was very, very sorry to see the project cancelled, because as a motorsport fan I always want to see the best brands in the world fighting for the big victories, and in endurance racing Audi is one of the most important brands not only for results but also for betting with amazing things: diesel engine, aerodynamic design with innovative touches but with the identity of Audi. And to me personally the protypes have always seemed to me incredible cars with distinctive touches of audi. But unfortunately they canceled the project which every fan of audi and motoring in general wanted to see, not only for what represents audi as a brand, but also for the design of the car, audi is a brand that has been characterized by making very risky designs with innovative touches but with the identity of audi.
Thanks FJ, I just returned from the Bathurst 12 hour (which ironically Audi finished a credible 3rd) when I saw this video. It’s heartbreaking that Audi cancelled what I consider to be their DNA of racing, sports cars. Perhaps VW made the decision for them but the WEC and Le Mans has not felt the same without them.
It's completely shameful Audi killed their lmdh program. Unless their F1 project is successful, it ponders as to why they can't afford to run an lmh/lmdh program at the same as an F1 program like Aston Martin & Ferrari can. Plus with them having ended supprt for their GT program, Audi doesn't deserve to return to the WEC grid and should've listened to common sense and maintain their GT division. Instead, they are bound to repeat what Toyota did: drop everything to fail in F1
They won’t run more projects because they’re not interested in motorsport anymore besides the marketing value and money making is the main reason F1 still exists
I am angry that Audi has decided to throw all their heritage away in order to throw all their money away on F1... a series that has lost it lustre due to the oversized and overweight cars.
I'm surprised they didn't still finish the program and offer it as a customer car, might have salvaged some of the money spent on research and building aswell as still having the audi name on the grid even though it wouldn't be run by audi
TBH it kind of makes sense to me. If it was essentially going to have the exact same chasis and engine of the 963, it does seem a bit redundant to have an entirely separate racing program. I didnt know they were planning an lmdh, I thought they had a lm hypercar in the works similar to how aston martin was going about things. I'd really much rather see some more hypercar's join the series, as the lmdh's just feel very similar from one to another. Plus losing scg was a big blow. I dont want to see the hypercar series turn into essentially dpi 2.0, with every car being based on an existing platform. Having massive manufacturers more concerned about cutting costs and doing things cheaply, instead of uniquely. I always found it odd that the biggest manufacturers with some of the largest pocketbooks took the cheap route of going lmdh, meanwhile every single smaller company with very limited funds went the lm hypercar route.
Kind of agree, I have much more respect in Ferrari, Toyota, Peugeot and even more Isotta to go to the "hard way" ... But in the same time with a LMDh you still have to build the majority of the car yourself.
I can’t be too sad about the Audi decision to drop their LMDH program. More disappointing is Alfa Romeo deciding against a program for Hypercar now that their sponsorship deal with Sauber has come to an end.
Alfa Romeo said that if there was possibly an LMDh and they could do WEC and IMSA, it would be great with Dallara, even if they are Stellantis like Peugeot, to do it differently, like Lambo and Porsche
Seeing these videos always makes me wonder. Why does F1 live rent free on the heads of a lot of people who don't like it? Like, they spend more time hating on F1 than actually loving the motorsport they like more. I get that F1 is the biggest motorsport in the world and all that, and that, for some reason, makes some people really salty, but still.... F1 is the largest motorsport that's still purely technical, meaning that the team that builds the best car is the one that will win and have the best drivers. Pretty much every other motorsport has some way to level up the playing field that tries to hold back the ones that make good cars and tries to make the ones that build bad cars less mediocre. And both forms are good, I love F1 and the WEC, they're fantastic!!! But for very different reasons. I get that a lot of F1 fans are elitists. That, however, doesn't mean people should get all angry and hate on F1, because they end up looking just like how those elitists think they look. And, in the end, only they lost, not F1 elitists.
There are multiple reasons why people might not like F1. Some of the tracks / countries they visited the last few years were let's say a bit questionable. I can see why people are not the biggest fans of that. Then there are all of these drama arcs with DTS that bunch up things that actually aren't that dramatic at all. Prices are going insane in F1, it's nearly impossible for "normal" F1 fans to visit races. It's not really the "core" audience at the races anymore I'd say, especially those huge celeb parties we often have for the US races. The racing hasn't been that great the last few years either. I still enjoy F1 but it's not like F1 is perfect and none of the criticism is justified.
@@Maenfy The difference between what you've just said and the 95% of things that you'll find is that you do bring valid points in a respectful way instead of just going pretty much like "Haha F1 bad and for dumb people." And also some criticism could apply to F1 pretty much forever. The racing in F1 has always been subpar compared to other motorsports. It has never been their strong suit, be it 2024, 2004 or 1984, but people are nostalgic for the past, so their memories get tinted. I believe that DTS gets far more hate than it deserves. Is it perfect? Of course it isn't. But some people act like it has been the worst thing in F1 since forever just because new people are getting into the sport that aren't the most knowledgeable people. Can they be a little of morons? For sure, but those calling them DTS fans and gatekeeping them, look even worse than those DTS fans that may be annoying. I do agree on the questionable countries and that prices are way too high. But let's be real, most people that complain about the first one are just people that are trying to look smart and justified on their hate. The tickets prices are insane, but as long as F1 can afford it, they'll keep doing it. As much as some people like to say otherwise and that F1 is dead and whatnot, attendance is still in some of the highest ever, which means F1 can still afford to put on those ridiculous prices. I don't like it and no one should, but alas, is what we have.
It's the internet, people think they can say anything they want without consequences, hence why they start coming with their extreme views like these. And it's not just F1, nowadays you have to say but a single word and you'll get these kinds haters. I'm willing to bet 99% of these people saying shit about F1 would never dare say those things in public irl.
Porshe-Audi. They're under the same ownership and share technology. Before Audi domination started in the mid to late 90's, it was Porsche that dominated. It's kind of silly to have both run GTP/Hypercars. Porsche powered McLaren's F1 championship car in 1984. It's Audi's turn to give it a go.
It's more complicated than that Each part of the VW group make their own decisions (even without Audi, VW has two brand in WEC with Porsche and Lamborghini) Even more Porsche who had a rather big liberty in what they want to do (because they're the second most powerful brand of the group) But F1 isnt in Porsche DNA anyway Porsche went to F1 1) because it's was more or less the same technology than in Endurance 2) because McLaren ask 3) because TAG were willing to pay and to erase the Porsche name for their own
Considering the fact that WEC is getting a huge hype this year and will get even bigger next year with aston martin joining and maybe(who knows but highly unlikely) glickenhaus or vanwall. I think audi made a huge mistake when dropping their Lmdh programe. They could have competed in both series with ease. Their car seemed to be almost ready to go. But you never know what happens behinde the scenes so who am i to judge(im just a huge F1 and WEC fan).
Actually everything under the Lamborghini is Audi, even in the road cars. It was only after the announcement of Audi entering F1 that the Lamborghini project gained momentum. And also the huge failure of Porsche in their partnership with Red Bull Racing and after that, not being able to lure another team into selling at least 50% of their shares to them. We’ll get to see that Audi, as a Lambo.
My friend thank you for the excellent research again of one of my German brands. And for my favorite Team Porsche it's going very well so far. 2 out of 2 Daytona and Bathurst Off topic What will be the regulations this year on allowing tire warmers ? Only in LeMans but not in WEC and IMSA ?
You forget the VW/Audi Board. Half hated racing and wanted out or supported Formula E. Porsche wanted to own Red Bull. That deal fell through. Audi was in F1 to build economy for Porsche. With Porsche out, Audi got left holding the bag. In fact, Audi should have stayed in WEC and Porsche should have gotten Sauber or Williams after the RB deal collapsed. The Audi board has egg on their face.
Audi axed their own ankles in motorsport so goddamn fast... They built themselves as one of the pillar of sportcars and motorsport during 2 decades and sudokued themselves in a single year..... But in terms of "car is ready but program is cancelled" they won't bit Peugeot. Their Hybrid 908 was not only built, or tested. The team brought it all the way to USA for the first race and learnt in the week before the race that the program was cancelled.
I've always wanted to see Audi in F1 so I'm excited for their entry (assuming they actually enter, recent news suggests they might give up last minute), but it's sad to see them quit everything else to focus on F1. Audi returning to Le Mans would've been historic and they three away their strong presence in other disciplines as well.
The program was not really there from the start. All development was done by Porsche. It would simply have been the Porsche with different styling for corporate design reasons. So no "Audi" ever existed really. Also the Dakar project (without it F1 and WEC was called "very much doable") also came so expensive that they sacked the LMDh program. Also because Porsche said they don't like that they simply use their car completely. This combined with the F1 cost let them pull back.
It's sad and, for me, infuriating to see Audi dumped their hypercar project, FE, dakar rally, and maybe even GT3 at this point all because they "want to focus on F1". idk what is going on behind audi's doors but if manufactures like toyota or mclaren can run multiple motorsports then why can't audi?
Audi will stop building combustion engines by 2026. F1 has some marketing value to it, endurance will have zero use to them as they won't be able to use the tech developed for endurance in their regular production. It's purely a commercial move.
Designing and manufacturing F1 engine is a different beast. McLaren have never been an engine supplier and technically their road car engines have been subleted to an engineering firm called Ricardo. Also in VW eyes they have enough reps through sister brands. Unlike Ferrari or Toyota where they are the parent companies
Set records?! LMAO. Porsche is the reigning endurance prototype manufacturer. Holding the outright record for wins at Le Mans regardless of decades. This is kind of ridiculous
I would argue that Audi has set many records though: They became the first manufacturer to win Le Mans with a diesel powered race car, and with a hybrid race car, the most dominant and successful brand at Le Mans, Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and others in the 21st century, and in terms of wins of Le Mans, their R8 LMP became the most successful car to win overall in the events history with 5 victories. While Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in prototype endurance racing, I would consider Audi to still be very successful too.
I’ll agree Audi was successful and a win is a win but contextually speaking there were times when they had very little competition. A bit like Toyota’s Le Mans win streak when there was ZERO real competition until 2023 and what happened … they lose to Ferrari. When Porsche brought out their lower class LMP2 based RS Spyder in ALMS, they were challenging Audi’s R8 and won overall on a few occasions. And when Porsche introduced the 919 hybrid they ended up beating Audi for two of their three Le Mans wins in a row before Audi packed it in. That said, I like your videos and definitely keep up the good work.
Sainteloc Racing wanted to enter an Audi for WEC but WEC denied it because they didn't have any grid space anymore and they prefered brands / teams that are loyal to WEC.
@@jxswu3224 Ford is being run by Proton Competition who have been racing in WEC for a long time and McLaren is teaming up with United Autosport who have also been in WEC for quite some time now.
Its not sad ... rly 1º The current CEO seems like a guy on mission to end all customer race services 2º Its funny for ppl to cry about "Heritage" ... what was the heritage before Group B? IMSA? And before LMP? 3º Audi knows that this time they will not battle just 1 "Big" team, this time exists real competition ... just like porsche, a winning streak won by the sheer lack of competition .... So they dont bother showing up, just like they run with their tail between their legs when Porsche and Toyota started to fight hard. 4º This is still an organization ... if you think the german brands are in motorsport for the "Emotions" well u r clueless, unless the "Emotion" is the big fat pay check! I really hope they tank in F1 to be honest!
VW is the reason i think . They put porsche in WEC & AUDI in f1 . According to vw it doesn't make sense & can feel it too , no point if have similar group brands in same category with double investment
Its impressive how Audi gutted almost every motorsport division just for F1 and now it seem wants to back out of it. What a joke of a company. Porsche won the VW war it seems.
LMDh is the inexpensive version of an LMH vehicle to get more competition on the track. However, the regulations make it almost impossible for an LMDh vehicle to win LM. I think the ACO regulations caused Audi to withdraw because Toyota could realize their ideas in these regulations. LMDh a good idea with a bad implementation...
And today rumors have it that AUDI is second guessing its F1 participation, but anyway. Still don't know why no one at VW wants to put Lamborghini in F1, especially considering to answer who Lamborghini started making high performance cars. In response to this I've been told that the Bull reaped some points out of sheer luck under Chrysler management, while Auto Union has some sort of WDC obtained around the 50s or even before. And also have seen that VW racing programs in series like the WRC did not end too well or marques like Seat and Skoda, so maybe there's the specific desire to prioritize flagship brands instead of smaller ones.
Cant help but think Audi made the wrong decision to go into F1 & abandon their rich heritages in endurance racing. As a motorsport fan i just dont see much value for Audi to be involved in F1. Even if they start winning personally it wouldn't do much for me. Endurance is where their story at Their engineering excellence in durability & performance is built on endurance racing. Not on a sprint race. This points drove home further after the opening race at Qatar this weekend. WEC racing was excellent.
Well Ferrari can compete in both.. why not Audi? I guess that's the Volkswagen group that thinks 3 in WEC/IMSA is too much. I hope they comeback on that decision and still do both as the F1 program is mainly run by Sauber.
As one of a few very very lucky guys, i knew a few of the right people, and was at the right time, at the right place, so i saw the car… sadly it never got finished… the car was like 99% done, it was ready to drive and the first real test was set.. and just like that, they stopped
It was sad to see Audi cancel the LMDh car but it makes sense when two of the other group's brands are already there. Also can't have Audi overtaking Porsche in overall Le Mans wins
Well I don't think the Lamborghini program was announced yet when Audi pulled out, and probably wouldn't be a bad thing to have 3 VW Group cars, they already do in GT racing and just gives more opportunity that a VW Group car wins
Unfortunately now even the Audi F1 project is hanging by a thread. There's disagreement between the board members half want in half wants out. But who knows... Maybe Audi would return to WEC when the grid least expect it... After all there's already a LMDh in hibenation.
Considering how bad -Stake- Sauber is doing in F1, I feel like Audi F1 project could be a huge failure, that ended up depriving us of another great competitor in endurance racing (and the lost of the Audi R8 LMS Evo II as well)
As a site note for this. In an interview, the Belgium Audi factory driver 'Gilles Magnus' said that Markus Duesmann, chairman of Audi till 2023, didn't want to support the endurance part of racing any more (LMDH & GT) and wanted to focus 100%. But the good news is that he is not chairman anymore, so the future is uncertain.
Honestly not that much of a bummer. Same engine and chassis as the 963, and Audi's board doesn't seem particularly interested in motorsports beyond marketing potential. Sadly the Audi entry likely would have just been yet another customer 963, maybe with different headlights.
You know, I don't know if this good but it feels like a miss to me. I mean sports-car racing is having a massive moment at the moment, and Audi dumped that for F1? Sure, F1's regs will change when they drop in but that is a massive unknown. Granted, the same is true with the convergence classes of GTP and Hypercar but looking back and seeing how much traction that Endurance racing has gathered with LMDh's introduction while F1 (after a change of their own a few years back) languishes? It just screams like a bad call.
Incredibly sad. On top of that you can even see the monocoque that they had started to build in storage, on a shelf, un the background of one of their yt vids. Rubbing salt in the wounds
Audi has enough money to race F1 and WEC at the same time like Ferrari, Aston Martin or Alpine. It makes no sense to cancel a project that is already ready to launch
The original Audi LMDh program is just unexciting to me, when Audi wasn't even bothered to use their own engine. Given the exploding grid size of Hypercar (never thought I'd say that), I'm glad that we gave those grid slots to more original cars (like the BMW that Team WRT bought over) rather than a re-skined 963. (Plus we now have 3 customer 963 which it basically the same thing)
I recommend that you don't explain something that you explained in the previous video, it's very time consuming, just go straight to the main point. Hope you read this
Sometimes facts are necessary to repeat in multiple videos as they are relevant to the topic. I don’t do it that often though, for example, this time I mentioned the chassis suppliers again because it was a quick reminder for the other brands Audi could pick from. I would only repeat facts (and do it briefly) if I knew there would be new people watching, and that it was relevant to the topic. Otherwise, if there is a big subject to discuss in a video, like the entire LMDh regulation, and I know I already covered it, I would just point the viewers that don’t know the info to that LMDh video. Hope this explains my strategy! Thanks for watching
If Audi didn't cancel the LMDh program and all their other racing programs: - Audi would have won Le Mans 24h 2023 - Audi would be doing well in GT and Dakar - Audi would win Daytona 24h 2024
@@Hunt-tq7ks In WEC the top class is Hypercar, but within the class there are two regulations, from a partnership between IMSA and ACO : ACO entries belong to the "true" Hypercar class, whereas IMSA entries follow the LMDh ruleset (same rules for the Daytona 24h), cheaper to enter but also making cars less complex and powerful. In every single race, LMDh cars got dominated by Hypercar cars.
No biggie @@FormulaJonah ! It does not take away anything from your otherwise very good and infromative videos! I just felt compelled to comment as i'm Swiss myself.
As a German I am sad that Audi just dumped their heritage to go to F1, F1 has zero emotions anymore to me and I am fatigued on the whole circus
Fr, they belong in endurance racing.
What is F1. Sounds like some political party.... NEXT!!!!!
Dumped? They spent almost 20 years in the top endurance class and before that in rally. Of course it’d be great to have them come back to Le Mans, but let them try F1 now. It could be great, bad, or decent. Let them move on.
still crying
@@mclarenm1 It will be funny when Audi fails in F1 and go backnto WEC... Well see who will cry then XD
Aston Martin did the same thing and now in 2025 they will return to top class endurance racing. I see Audi doing the same thing soon
I hope they do. Endurance is their history and success
The question is, in this case, will they rejoin soon enough or will they miss the big wave? At this point, the class is so stuffed full, there may not be any room left for the Ingolstadt brand.
Well, Aston didn't completely abandon their other Motorsport commitments the way Audi did when they went to F1 so... Audi seem more committed to leaving everything else behind
Would be cool if Audi rejoin gt3 racing
@@RobintalesfighterRacingaudi also doesn't have a cash flooded privateer racing team funding most of said program.
Kinda sad in a way the R18 e-tron remains the last prototype race car seven years on.
Last prototype LMP1 is the Toyota Ts050
True, same for Porche the 919 was the last Lmp1 until the 963 turned a wheel in anger last year..
The r18 was such a dream to see race.
Indeed it was shame it was the last one they've built. I know they've done GT3 race cars since just not the same..
1 Point missed, is that the Audi CEO not only canceld the lmdh programm but also destroyed the Customer programm which was working amazingly good. Now Audi will only have a Dakar and F1 Programm. What a shame for all Audi fans like me
Dakar is done
Aren’t they still close tho with Sainteloc and ABT for their GT3 programme tho?
Frankly, that's absurd. Audi and Porsche are known for sportscar racing, not F1 or single-seater racing. That's what they're known for and good at. To throw it all away for a chance at F1 is asinine. Lamborghini should have been sent to F1 instead if 1 VW Group brand had to be. Andretti and Cadillac also should be in F1, but they only want American races and sponsors; not American race teams
@@definitely_not_nick41Wec denied
totally agree with you @@BB_Sebring
This is B.S. The WEC and IMSA are WAAAAAY more exciting than Formula One! If I'm having trouble sleeping all I have to do is put on a F1 race and I'm asleep in 10min. WAAAY to much hype for a global, multi-million dollar spec series. I don't care if they came here to the US three times last year. Way to much drama!!
Then they completely axed their whole heritage for f1
This will haunt them if they don’t perform well in f1
f1>>>>> wec and imsa
@@mclarenm1 that's your opinion, many think differently so why not try to accept that people like different things and it takes away nothing from what you like
@@mclarenm1 nvm saw your comment history, why are you even here?
@britishempire3342 lol okay buddy
Quick reminder Audi didn’t just killed lmdh for f1, they killed lmdh, GT2,GT3,GT4 and TCR.
god i miss them and their diesel 😞
Yes, me too. Those were wonderful cars and times. Bring back diesel.
There is no way these resources were going to go to waste just like that. If anything, I could see Bentley picking up the project essentially where Audi left off and running the car as a Bentley instead. Ofc, they’d have to redesign it slightly to conform with Bentley design language, but it could be done, but only if Bentley asks very nicely, and idk if they’re gonna do that
Given the amount of shared technology between Audi's and Porsche's LMDh, I don't think it's coincidential that Porsche has been able to deliver 4 costumer 963's on top of the Porsche Penske works entries so quickly. Someone would have to look at it in detail, but it wouldn't surprise me if there has been a transfer between brands
@@Ofitus21 that makes sense. Still, I just want to see Bentley back at Le Mans in what is definitely one of the golden eras of the sport
@@Ofitus21you're right, Porsche received almost all of Audi's LMDh chassis after their program was cancelled.
Volkswagen already give Bentley a chance
@@Bncxx1275 When?
I personally was very, very sorry to see the project cancelled, because as a motorsport fan I always want to see the best brands in the world fighting for the big victories, and in endurance racing Audi is one of the most important brands not only for results but also for betting with amazing things: diesel engine, aerodynamic design with innovative touches but with the identity of Audi. And to me personally the protypes have always seemed to me incredible cars with distinctive touches of audi. But unfortunately they canceled the project which every fan of audi and motoring in general wanted to see, not only for what represents audi as a brand, but also for the design of the car, audi is a brand that has been characterized by making very risky designs with innovative touches but with the identity of audi.
Thanks FJ, I just returned from the Bathurst 12 hour (which ironically Audi finished a credible 3rd) when I saw this video. It’s heartbreaking that Audi cancelled what I consider to be their DNA of racing, sports cars. Perhaps VW made the decision for them but the WEC and Le Mans has not felt the same without them.
It's completely shameful Audi killed their lmdh program. Unless their F1 project is successful, it ponders as to why they can't afford to run an lmh/lmdh program at the same as an F1 program like Aston Martin & Ferrari can. Plus with them having ended supprt for their GT program, Audi doesn't deserve to return to the WEC grid and should've listened to common sense and maintain their GT division. Instead, they are bound to repeat what Toyota did: drop everything to fail in F1
At least Toyota (eventually) got their shit together with Gazoo Racing & are now dominant in multiple racing divisions outside of F1
They won’t run more projects because they’re not interested in motorsport anymore besides the marketing value and money making is the main reason F1 still exists
Audi and Porsche, bit like possible co operation between Alfa Romeo and Peugeot, sharing tech is wise move, cost effective
i hope that after a few years of them in f1 they can settle things down and revaluate their LMDh program like Aston
And then they decided to kill their programs in GT and LMDh for F1. Biggest downgrade ever.
f1 is the pinnacle of motorsport
@@mclarenm1and still the 24 hours of le mans is a bigger deal in the world of motorsport, what are you trying to say?
@@mclarenm1Remind me, where do some of the best F1 drivers go to race? Oh yeah, that's right. Le Mans.
@@mclarenm1 Thats why F1 tried and almost succeded in killing prototype and GT racing in the past. It was more successful than F1.
@@CarlosDiaz-oj5fn yes after their f1 career...not before...cause everyone's dream is to be a f1 driver...not a imsa or wec driver
i wont mind as long as their F1 team does well
Nobody cares for F1.
Audi has a much better heritage in the best racing class we have, sports car endurance racing!
I am angry that Audi has decided to throw all their heritage away in order to throw all their money away on F1... a series that has lost it lustre due to the oversized and overweight cars.
I'm surprised they didn't still finish the program and offer it as a customer car, might have salvaged some of the money spent on research and building aswell as still having the audi name on the grid even though it wouldn't be run by audi
TBH it kind of makes sense to me. If it was essentially going to have the exact same chasis and engine of the 963, it does seem a bit redundant to have an entirely separate racing program. I didnt know they were planning an lmdh, I thought they had a lm hypercar in the works similar to how aston martin was going about things. I'd really much rather see some more hypercar's join the series, as the lmdh's just feel very similar from one to another. Plus losing scg was a big blow. I dont want to see the hypercar series turn into essentially dpi 2.0, with every car being based on an existing platform. Having massive manufacturers more concerned about cutting costs and doing things cheaply, instead of uniquely. I always found it odd that the biggest manufacturers with some of the largest pocketbooks took the cheap route of going lmdh, meanwhile every single smaller company with very limited funds went the lm hypercar route.
Toyota is *_THE_* biggest automaker in the world & they took the LMh route with the (disrespectfully successful) GR010 Hybrid
Kind of agree, I have much more respect in Ferrari, Toyota, Peugeot and even more Isotta to go to the "hard way" ... But in the same time with a LMDh you still have to build the majority of the car yourself.
great video! little nitpick ive found though, Nico Müller isnt german, he is swiss. Love the content though keep it up!
Oops! My mistake, apologies. Thanks for watching, and glad you liked the video
I can’t be too sad about the Audi decision to drop their LMDH program.
More disappointing is Alfa Romeo deciding against a program for Hypercar now that their sponsorship deal with Sauber has come to an end.
Alfa Romeo said that if there was possibly an LMDh and they could do WEC and IMSA, it would be great with Dallara, even if they are Stellantis like Peugeot, to do it differently, like Lambo and Porsche
Seeing these videos always makes me wonder. Why does F1 live rent free on the heads of a lot of people who don't like it? Like, they spend more time hating on F1 than actually loving the motorsport they like more. I get that F1 is the biggest motorsport in the world and all that, and that, for some reason, makes some people really salty, but still....
F1 is the largest motorsport that's still purely technical, meaning that the team that builds the best car is the one that will win and have the best drivers. Pretty much every other motorsport has some way to level up the playing field that tries to hold back the ones that make good cars and tries to make the ones that build bad cars less mediocre. And both forms are good, I love F1 and the WEC, they're fantastic!!! But for very different reasons.
I get that a lot of F1 fans are elitists. That, however, doesn't mean people should get all angry and hate on F1, because they end up looking just like how those elitists think they look. And, in the end, only they lost, not F1 elitists.
There are multiple reasons why people might not like F1.
Some of the tracks / countries they visited the last few years were let's say a bit questionable. I can see why people are not the biggest fans of that.
Then there are all of these drama arcs with DTS that bunch up things that actually aren't that dramatic at all.
Prices are going insane in F1, it's nearly impossible for "normal" F1 fans to visit races. It's not really the "core" audience at the races anymore I'd say, especially those huge celeb parties we often have for the US races.
The racing hasn't been that great the last few years either.
I still enjoy F1 but it's not like F1 is perfect and none of the criticism is justified.
@@Maenfy The difference between what you've just said and the 95% of things that you'll find is that you do bring valid points in a respectful way instead of just going pretty much like "Haha F1 bad and for dumb people."
And also some criticism could apply to F1 pretty much forever. The racing in F1 has always been subpar compared to other motorsports. It has never been their strong suit, be it 2024, 2004 or 1984, but people are nostalgic for the past, so their memories get tinted.
I believe that DTS gets far more hate than it deserves. Is it perfect? Of course it isn't. But some people act like it has been the worst thing in F1 since forever just because new people are getting into the sport that aren't the most knowledgeable people. Can they be a little of morons? For sure, but those calling them DTS fans and gatekeeping them, look even worse than those DTS fans that may be annoying.
I do agree on the questionable countries and that prices are way too high. But let's be real, most people that complain about the first one are just people that are trying to look smart and justified on their hate.
The tickets prices are insane, but as long as F1 can afford it, they'll keep doing it. As much as some people like to say otherwise and that F1 is dead and whatnot, attendance is still in some of the highest ever, which means F1 can still afford to put on those ridiculous prices. I don't like it and no one should, but alas, is what we have.
It's the internet, people think they can say anything they want without consequences, hence why they start coming with their extreme views like these.
And it's not just F1, nowadays you have to say but a single word and you'll get these kinds haters.
I'm willing to bet 99% of these people saying shit about F1 would never dare say those things in public irl.
@@Maenfy hey, your'e GT guy
SCREW FORMULA 1, Allways ruining the rest of the Motorsports
Porshe-Audi. They're under the same ownership and share technology. Before Audi domination started in the mid to late 90's, it was Porsche that dominated. It's kind of silly to have both run GTP/Hypercars.
Porsche powered McLaren's F1 championship car in 1984. It's Audi's turn to give it a go.
It's more complicated than that
Each part of the VW group make their own decisions (even without Audi, VW has two brand in WEC with Porsche and Lamborghini)
Even more Porsche who had a rather big liberty in what they want to do (because they're the second most powerful brand of the group)
But F1 isnt in Porsche DNA anyway
Porsche went to F1 1) because it's was more or less the same technology than in Endurance 2) because McLaren ask 3) because TAG were willing to pay and to erase the Porsche name for their own
@@vincesalamander5980 It's still an unnecessary redundancy for them to do.
Considering the fact that WEC is getting a huge hype this year and will get even bigger next year with aston martin joining and maybe(who knows but highly unlikely) glickenhaus or vanwall. I think audi made a huge mistake when dropping their Lmdh programe. They could have competed in both series with ease. Their car seemed to be almost ready to go.
But you never know what happens behinde the scenes so who am i to judge(im just a huge F1 and WEC fan).
Actually everything under the Lamborghini is Audi, even in the road cars. It was only after the announcement of Audi entering F1 that the Lamborghini project gained momentum. And also the huge failure of Porsche in their partnership with Red Bull Racing and after that, not being able to lure another team into selling at least 50% of their shares to them. We’ll get to see that Audi, as a Lambo.
My friend thank you for the excellent research again of one of my German brands.
And for my favorite Team Porsche it's going very well so far. 2 out of 2
Daytona and Bathurst
Off topic
What will be the regulations this year on allowing tire warmers ?
Only in LeMans but not in WEC and IMSA ?
I hate F1 and i hate modern Audis. Therefore Audi entering F1 just makes sense to me.
You forget the VW/Audi Board. Half hated racing and wanted out or supported Formula E. Porsche wanted to own Red Bull. That deal fell through. Audi was in F1 to build economy for Porsche. With Porsche out, Audi got left holding the bag. In fact, Audi should have stayed in WEC and Porsche should have gotten Sauber or Williams after the RB deal collapsed. The Audi board has egg on their face.
Its so sad
Audi axed their own ankles in motorsport so goddamn fast... They built themselves as one of the pillar of sportcars and motorsport during 2 decades and sudokued themselves in a single year.....
But in terms of "car is ready but program is cancelled" they won't bit Peugeot. Their Hybrid 908 was not only built, or tested. The team brought it all the way to USA for the first race and learnt in the week before the race that the program was cancelled.
Rather see Lamborghini to get involved in F1 then Audi tbh.
great video once again Jonah 👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you so much!
I heard that the Audi LMDh car and designs were transferred to Lamborghini to jump start their program.
I've always wanted to see Audi in F1 so I'm excited for their entry (assuming they actually enter, recent news suggests they might give up last minute), but it's sad to see them quit everything else to focus on F1. Audi returning to Le Mans would've been historic and they three away their strong presence in other disciplines as well.
The program was not really there from the start. All development was done by Porsche. It would simply have been the Porsche with different styling for corporate design reasons. So no "Audi" ever existed really.
Also the Dakar project (without it F1 and WEC was called "very much doable") also came so expensive that they sacked the LMDh program. Also because Porsche said they don't like that they simply use their car completely. This combined with the F1 cost let them pull back.
If Audi went to IMSA I'd probably be more interested in IMSA than WEC even though I'm on the European side of the Atlantic.
When comes the Prediction Video of the WEC 2024 Season?
It's sad and, for me, infuriating to see Audi dumped their hypercar project, FE, dakar rally, and maybe even GT3 at this point all because they "want to focus on F1". idk what is going on behind audi's doors but if manufactures like toyota or mclaren can run multiple motorsports then why can't audi?
Because they’re not interested in motorsports anymore besides marketing value and that’s the main reason F1 still exists
Toyota makes a lot of money compared to Audi
Audi will stop building combustion engines by 2026. F1 has some marketing value to it, endurance will have zero use to them as they won't be able to use the tech developed for endurance in their regular production. It's purely a commercial move.
Designing and manufacturing F1 engine is a different beast. McLaren have never been an engine supplier and technically their road car engines have been subleted to an engineering firm called Ricardo. Also in VW eyes they have enough reps through sister brands. Unlike Ferrari or Toyota where they are the parent companies
How great would have been if we would have had another Audi vs Peugeot ?
Auto Union!
Set records?! LMAO. Porsche is the reigning endurance prototype manufacturer. Holding the outright record for wins at Le Mans regardless of decades. This is kind of ridiculous
I would argue that Audi has set many records though:
They became the first manufacturer to win Le Mans with a diesel powered race car, and with a hybrid race car, the most dominant and successful brand at Le Mans, Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and others in the 21st century, and in terms of wins of Le Mans, their R8 LMP became the most successful car to win overall in the events history with 5 victories.
While Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in prototype endurance racing, I would consider Audi to still be very successful too.
I’ll agree Audi was successful and a win is a win but contextually speaking there were times when they had very little competition. A bit like Toyota’s Le Mans win streak when there was ZERO real competition until 2023 and what happened … they lose to Ferrari.
When Porsche brought out their lower class LMP2 based RS Spyder in ALMS, they were challenging Audi’s R8 and won overall on a few occasions. And when Porsche introduced the 919 hybrid they ended up beating Audi for two of their three Le Mans wins in a row before Audi packed it in.
That said, I like your videos and definitely keep up the good work.
As a WEC, Audi and f1 fan I was so sad that they threw their heritage away to come to f1
is it the same reason why Audi does not enter their R8 into LmGt3? Would love to see them compete also if it would not be in the top class...
Because they’re also giving up on their GT3 programs.
They killed everything just for F1
@@grafkrapfen4906 thats just sad
Sainteloc Racing wanted to enter an Audi for WEC but WEC denied it because they didn't have any grid space anymore and they prefered brands / teams that are loyal to WEC.
@@Maenfy what about Ford and McLaren in WEC then
@@jxswu3224 Ford is being run by Proton Competition who have been racing in WEC for a long time and McLaren is teaming up with United Autosport who have also been in WEC for quite some time now.
Imagine that the car in the video on 4:45 was really happening 🤩🤩🤩
Maybe Audi will come to their senses and re-deploy the GT program and the LMDh. Not holding my breath.
that audi LMDH HAS BEEN incarnated to become LAMBORGHINI LMDH. 😂
Its not sad ... rly
1º The current CEO seems like a guy on mission to end all customer race services
2º Its funny for ppl to cry about "Heritage" ... what was the heritage before Group B? IMSA? And before LMP?
3º Audi knows that this time they will not battle just 1 "Big" team, this time exists real competition ... just like porsche, a winning streak won by the sheer lack of competition .... So they dont bother showing up, just like they run with their tail between their legs when Porsche and Toyota started to fight hard.
4º This is still an organization ... if you think the german brands are in motorsport for the "Emotions" well u r clueless, unless the "Emotion" is the big fat pay check!
I really hope they tank in F1 to be honest!
Audi will come back the latest 2027 with an LMDH however I think we’ll see the R8 in 2025 in WEC or something
😢
VW is the reason i think . They put porsche in WEC & AUDI in f1 . According to vw it doesn't make sense & can feel it too , no point if have similar group brands in same category with double investment
Its impressive how Audi gutted almost every motorsport division just for F1 and now it seem wants to back out of it. What a joke of a company. Porsche won the VW war it seems.
LMDh is the inexpensive version of an LMH vehicle to get more competition on the track. However, the regulations make it almost impossible for an LMDh vehicle to win LM. I think the ACO regulations caused Audi to withdraw because Toyota could realize their ideas in these regulations. LMDh a good idea with a bad implementation...
And today rumors have it that AUDI is second guessing its F1 participation, but anyway.
Still don't know why no one at VW wants to put Lamborghini in F1, especially considering to answer who Lamborghini started making high performance cars. In response to this I've been told that the Bull reaped some points out of sheer luck under Chrysler management, while Auto Union has some sort of WDC obtained around the 50s or even before. And also have seen that VW racing programs in series like the WRC did not end too well or marques like Seat and Skoda, so maybe there's the specific desire to prioritize flagship brands instead of smaller ones.
Can you make a video on successive failures of Bmw lmdh program🤔🤔
I rather have Porsche in F1 (which almost happened with Red Bull) and Audi in LeMans
Cant help but think Audi made the wrong decision to go into F1 & abandon their rich heritages in endurance racing. As a motorsport fan i just dont see much value for Audi to be involved in F1. Even if they start winning personally it wouldn't do much for me. Endurance is where their story at Their engineering excellence in durability & performance is built on endurance racing. Not on a sprint race. This points drove home further after the opening race at Qatar this weekend. WEC racing was excellent.
it wasn't Audi it's mostly VW that cancelled because imagine 3 brands under VW racing the same class kinda strange
Why not the Lamborghini take over Audi programs or at least the prototype? So lambo can reduce thee budget
9:19 Audi says Prototype racing is too easy so they will come back to win if this limited opportunity in F1 doesn’t work out.
imagine if audi were allowed to run diesel engines with smaller fuel tanks. It would make hypercar and gtp even more entertaining
same whit the R8 V10 ..... how u can kill a CAR like this in GT3
Nice video. It was good to learn about this program. Keep up the good work.
Fantastic video !
I really hope Ford goes all to beat Ferrari again.
Well Ferrari can compete in both.. why not Audi? I guess that's the Volkswagen group that thinks 3 in WEC/IMSA is too much. I hope they comeback on that decision and still do both as the F1 program is mainly run by Sauber.
Ferrari are there for so long, and money are massive for F1, but with cap, they get around it with Endurance program just that.
My .02 I wish we got an Audi with a different engine than the 963 instead of Lamborghini. Maybe Bugatti or another VW group in F1 instead
Big F for sports cars
As one of a few very very lucky guys, i knew a few of the right people, and was at the right time, at the right place, so i saw the car… sadly it never got finished… the car was like 99% done, it was ready to drive and the first real test was set.. and just like that, they stopped
It was sad to see Audi cancel the LMDh car but it makes sense when two of the other group's brands are already there. Also can't have Audi overtaking Porsche in overall Le Mans wins
Well I don't think the Lamborghini program was announced yet when Audi pulled out, and probably wouldn't be a bad thing to have 3 VW Group cars, they already do in GT racing and just gives more opportunity that a VW Group car wins
Unfortunately now even the Audi F1 project is hanging by a thread. There's disagreement between the board members half want in half wants out.
But who knows... Maybe Audi would return to WEC when the grid least expect it... After all there's already a LMDh in hibenation.
Considering how bad -Stake- Sauber is doing in F1, I feel like Audi F1 project could be a huge failure, that ended up depriving us of another great competitor in endurance racing (and the lost of the Audi R8 LMS Evo II as well)
As a site note for this. In an interview, the Belgium Audi factory driver 'Gilles Magnus' said that Markus Duesmann, chairman of Audi till 2023, didn't want to support the endurance part of racing any more (LMDH & GT) and wanted to focus 100%. But the good news is that he is not chairman anymore, so the future is uncertain.
Honestly not that much of a bummer. Same engine and chassis as the 963, and Audi's board doesn't seem particularly interested in motorsports beyond marketing potential. Sadly the Audi entry likely would have just been yet another customer 963, maybe with different headlights.
You know, I don't know if this good but it feels like a miss to me. I mean sports-car racing is having a massive moment at the moment, and Audi dumped that for F1?
Sure, F1's regs will change when they drop in but that is a massive unknown. Granted, the same is true with the convergence classes of GTP and Hypercar but looking back and seeing how much traction that Endurance racing has gathered with LMDh's introduction while F1 (after a change of their own a few years back) languishes?
It just screams like a bad call.
All of those Manufacturers have history with Endurance racing but surprisingly Audi is the one to do the F1 Job
Incredibly sad. On top of that you can even see the monocoque that they had started to build in storage, on a shelf, un the background of one of their yt vids. Rubbing salt in the wounds
Don't worry, they will go back to WEC once they become world champion in F1.
The first 963 vin #s are actually Audis prototype
Audi has enough money to race F1 and WEC at the same time like Ferrari, Aston Martin or Alpine. It makes no sense to cancel a project that is already ready to launch
Nico Müller is a swiss and not german driver
Thanks for the correction! I forgot to correct that in my editing rounds.
There was a rumor that Bentley was going to use that Audi LMDh, but in the end nothing...
come on LAudi
And what happened to the Red Bull Porsche saga, and they went with Ford instead lol
Porsche wants 50% Red Bull control, lol 💀
4:23 Nico is Swiss not German.
Noted 👍
Great job mate. Seems like you put a lot of effort into your script here.
4:22 Müller’s Swiss actually
Oops, I must have forgot to correct that!
I wish Audi was at Le Mans with the rest
It also destroyed Audi's successful GT Customer program with Audi Sport supporting the likes of GT3 and TCR around the world
The original Audi LMDh program is just unexciting to me, when Audi wasn't even bothered to use their own engine. Given the exploding grid size of Hypercar (never thought I'd say that), I'm glad that we gave those grid slots to more original cars (like the BMW that Team WRT bought over) rather than a re-skined 963. (Plus we now have 3 customer 963 which it basically the same thing)
Well, with diesel banned, which is Audi de facto trademark for endurance, they certainly have to find new engine
@@kidpagronprimsank05 they are using the exact same engine as Porsche
I recommend that you don't explain something that you explained in the previous video, it's very time consuming, just go straight to the main point. Hope you read this
Sometimes facts are necessary to repeat in multiple videos as they are relevant to the topic. I don’t do it that often though, for example, this time I mentioned the chassis suppliers again because it was a quick reminder for the other brands Audi could pick from. I would only repeat facts (and do it briefly) if I knew there would be new people watching, and that it was relevant to the topic. Otherwise, if there is a big subject to discuss in a video, like the entire LMDh regulation, and I know I already covered it, I would just point the viewers that don’t know the info to that LMDh video. Hope this explains my strategy! Thanks for watching
They canceled lm endurance racing for F1. I am dissappint
If Audi didn't cancel the LMDh program and all their other racing programs:
- Audi would have won Le Mans 24h 2023
- Audi would be doing well in GT and Dakar
- Audi would win Daytona 24h 2024
You can't won Le Mans on LMDh 💀
@@Ariespradana13 Wdym
@@Hunt-tq7ks In WEC the top class is Hypercar, but within the class there are two regulations, from a partnership between IMSA and ACO : ACO entries belong to the "true" Hypercar class, whereas IMSA entries follow the LMDh ruleset (same rules for the Daytona 24h), cheaper to enter but also making cars less complex and powerful. In every single race, LMDh cars got dominated by Hypercar cars.
They wanted F1 so badly 😂... they moved on
F1 baby
Nico Müller is a Swiss Driver.
Thanks for the correction! I forgot to correct that in my editing rounds.
No biggie @@FormulaJonah ! It does not take away anything from your otherwise very good and infromative videos! I just felt compelled to comment as i'm Swiss myself.