Thanks to a significant rule change in 2026, more manufacturers and privateers are interested in Formula 1 than ever before. Porsche and Audi have confirmed that they'll be competing on the grid from 2026, while the Andretti family is keen to enter an all-American team.
Lamborghini, however, has no interest in the sport. Talking to Top Gear, Lamborghini's CEO made it clear that it does not have F1 in its crosshairs. "We think Formula One is something which is not part of our idea for the future because when we speak about motorsport, it always has to have a relationship to the street-legal cars," said Stephan Winkelmann.
The relationship Winkelmann refers to is perfectly illustrated by the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Cup, which is a bunch of Huracan racing cars competing against each other. The lessons learned from this series eventually filter down to production models like the Huracan STO.
Lamborghini creating a Lamborghini only series is the most Lamborghini thing ever. You can't get beat if you don't compete, essentially.
The Italian manufacturer is making another bold move, however. Earlier this week, it confirmed that it would be entering the FIA World Endurance Championship. While we love Formula 1 and believe it to be the most entertaining motorsport, we have tremendous respect for endurance racing.
F1 cars only have to last two hours, while an endurance racer has to last for 24 hours, as seen in the blockbuster Ford V Ferrari.
Running a racing car for 24 hours flat is undoubtedly a more impressive feat of engineering. And that's why Lamborghini chose to compete in the new LMDh class instead.
We all know Lamborghini has to go hybrid at some point. Technically, it already did with the Sian. But its first attempt was just a V12 engine with a fancy Duracell battery glued to the top. It helped Lambo get slightly more power out of the NA V12, but the supercapacitor was drained within minutes.
According to the EPA, the Sian could do 8/14/10 mpg city/highway/combined. Not the most incredible start to going green, but what did you expect from a Lambo hybrid?
Lamborghini is taking its next hybrid more seriously, and that's where the World Endurance Championship comes in. Lamborghini will put its new hybrid technology to the ultimate test by thrashing the hell out of it for 24 hours in various races before putting it in the vehicles.
"Endurance racing and the LMDh has a lot to do with how we can transfer the technology into the street-legal cars, and Formula One is not," said Winkelmann. In pure Italian fashion, Winkelmann is also happy to admit that Lamborghini is too busy for F1. "This LMDh entry is eating up all the resources we have in terms of manpower and development capacity."
We don't necessarily think Lamborghini's approach is more innovative, as F1 also provides an opportunity to test hybrid powertrains. Perhaps it's time-sensitive, as Lambo will enter endurance racing in 2024, while Porsche and Audi must wait until 2026 to compete in F1.
Still, it would have been great to see all of the prominent supercar makers line up on the F1 grid.