Earlier this month, the exciting news that Audi and Porsche are both interested in entering Formula 1 was officially announced. As you will have likely heard by now, the ailing McLaren F1 team is among those that Audi is reportedly interested in taking over while Porsche seems on course to do a deal with Red Bull Racing. Of course, everything at this stage is conjecture and neither of the Volkswagen-owned brands has made their investment intentions public just yet, but the latest rumor is one worth considering: Audi could buy Aston Martin's F1 team.

With the British team having secured just five points from four races, it may be time for Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll to cut his losses and send his son to NASCAR.

"I think for any team who has not a manufacturer on [their] side, it's super appealing to have this possibility," said Aston Martin team principal Mick Krack at this weekend's Imola Grand Prix. "We would be lying if we say we are not interested in something like that. I would be very interested to talk."

Williams boss Jost Capito - who achieved immense success with Volkswagen in the World Rally Championship - echoed those sentiments, and with his team stone last with only one point so far, a partnership with a big company like Audi would be a dream come true.

While Aston Martin has the benefit of road cars that help market its racing exploits, recent complaints about the pace of the Vantage F1 safety car have not been positive, and we can't imagine someone like Stroll is appreciating all the bad press.

Former Williams BMW ace and Sky Germany TV pundit Ralf Schumacher said that the rumors about Audi and Aston seem to fit, noting that Stroll could be ready to cut his losses as he is an investor first and a car enthusiast second. Furthermore, "Audi is definitely looking for its own team and accordingly that could fit quite well," said Schumacher.

Audi seems to have plenty of options if it decides against creating a works team from scratch, as even the impressively-performing Haas team of 2022 is open to negotiation. Team boss Guenther Steiner would also be interested in discussing potential partnerships: "Obviously, as Mike [Krack] said, who would not speak to them? But we have not had any talks."

Not yet, anyway, but it seems that Audi and Porsche's forays into F1 are now a matter of when and not if. We can't wait.