Every time Porsche entered the races, people were impressed by its performance. The Porsche car was usually in first place, and if not first, it was always in the top three. Some races were considered mind-blowing by critics, and Porsche enthusiasts were in their element! It was just a natural progression for Porsche to move into Formula One.
Porsche’s first entry into Formula One took place in the 1961 to 1962 season. Porsche fans were a bit perturbed, to say the least. Porsche only managed one championship victory thanks to Dan Gurney at the end of the French Grand Prix in 1962. Porsche won another race, but it wasn’t a championship cup. At the end of his first season of racing, Porsche withdrew from Formula 1. The reason for this was cited as the high cost of his racing involvement. Naturally, this was because they were not earning anything to get their money back for the amounts they had invested in their company.
In 1983, Porsche re-entered the world of Formula One. This time, they supplied engines built under the TAG name for the McLaren Team. Fortunately for Porsche, TAG was a huge success. Porsche-powered cars won two titles for the construction, and in addition to this, three drivers were crowned championships in the years 1984, 1985 and 1986.
In 1991, Porsche returned as an engine supplier to Formula One. Unfortunately, the results were not as satisfactory as they had been before. Porsche entered their cars under the Footwork name, but failed to score any points. In more than half of the races they entered, Porsche failed to even qualify! Since this disastrous year Porsche has not returned to Formula One. There has been much speculation as to why they did not return again. It could well be because Porsche was a very successful brand with a good reputation. If they continued to participate in Formula One and experienced these embarrassing failures for the world to see, the Porsche brand would start to lose its status.
Despite Porsche’s unsuccessful attempt to break into Formula One, they continue to dazzle on the race track. Today, Porsche participates in smaller, more localized races. There are special Porsche races for enthusiasts that are very successful. In other bigger races, the Porsche is usually modified, but it still does well. Unfortunately for Porsche, the only real professional category they take part in these days is the Porsche Michelin Super Cup. This cup is disputed as a support category in the European Formula One.
In retrospect, there may be many thoughts as to why Porsche did so poorly in Formula One. Logically, it was the wisest decision for them to pull out. Porsche is well known for its class, sleek lines and powerful engines. Formula One is one of the biggest marketing campaigns for automakers in the world and Porsche naturally didn’t want to be heralded as a failure with sub-championship level engines.
