Porsche's 'F1nally' Trademark Application Hints at Upcoming F1 Entry - The Drive

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Porsche’s F1 outfit is taking shape—at least in the German trademark office.

Porsche’s ‘F1nally’ Trademark Application Hints at Upcoming F1 Entry — *f1nally.com, DPMA, Getty*

Former Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess already spilled the beans: Porsche and Audi are set to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026. So far, we don't know much about what those entries will look like. A venture between Red Bull and Porsche is apparently in the works, but details are forthcoming. In the meantime, a German trademark registration from the Stuttgart automaker and a strangely named website give us a glimpse of the company's plans.

In a trademark application filed Aug. 10 and formally registered Monday, Porsche has called dibs on the word "F1nally," a not-so cryptic way of saying the brand is, at last, returning to F1. Currently, the word has not been trademarked in the United States or the U.K.; however, the domain f1nally.com was registered on March 19 of this year. Visiting the page displays the following message in plain text: "Hi. This is not Porsche. I am an iOS app. I’ll be done someday."

Yup, definitely not Porsche. For sure.

The brand's return to F1 has been reported as part of a wider push by the VW Group to enter the racing series. Volkswagen is also reportedly interested in getting its Audi brand into the sport, although details of that plan are even hazier than Porsche's. Previously, Audi seemed very interested in buying out the McLaren team as a way to enter F1. McLaren wasn't interested in selling, though.

Outright adding new teams is something the current stable of F1 franchises is unlikely to accept. Spearheaded by Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff, many of the current teams say they aren't open to new entries. They doubt any potential new outfits would add value to the sport. This is why the Andretti family's hopeful entry is facing such an uphill battle, and why a brand like Audi might want an easier way in than making a whole new team.

Porsche's entry is a different story, though. The Porsche brand has a history in the sport and Red Bull is looking for somebody to brand its new engines once regulation changes arrive in 2026. That's also around the time its low-key partnership with Honda comes to a close. The Stuttgart automaker could very feasibly get a stake in Red Bull powertrains and its impressive new facilities, as well as its name on the team. The company has, after all, made a prototype hybrid F1 engine relatively recently.

With Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner discussing the deal publicly, it's possible things are progressing steadily behind the scenes. This latest trademark registration only adds fuel to the fire.

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