I have thought about this question for a while and I think it's interesting that it came up on Rennteam.
No. Porsche should not enter F1. It is not an economically viable option within the current landscape of F1. Middling independent car companies (with the exception of Ferrari who builds their sports cars to finance their racing
) will be effectively wiped out of F1 as a result of Red Bull's ascension into F1's inner circle.
Red Bull has a serious bank roll and F1 finally can justify another major player in the cards. They don't need to keep messing around with bottom feeder teems like Aguri for too much longer (except for market expansion and new driver testing). Red Bull has forged an excellent business plan (budding a market-seed in the U.S. with
Scott Speed ) and I'm sure their efforts and expenses will pay off. Red Bull's bankroll will put them in the top 5 soon enough. Take that into account with Ferrari, BAR Honda (huge bankroll), Toyota (huge bankroll) and McLaren Merc. I left Renault out due to the speculation that they might pull out (why? because F1 costs are too much for their new CFO who has been known to cut out the
prestige spending).
In order to enter F1, a team either needs to acquire another small team (i.e. Torro Rosso or Midland or BMW's acquisition) or start from scratch, usually purchasing older aerokits/engines (Super Aguri/Red Bull). This really leaves your team in the bowels for about 2-3 years, even if you are dropping huge cash. If you have a competent engineering and design team (we're talking PHD Aero-space Dynamics here), you can begin to turn a corner on this voraciously cutting-edge sport.
What does this do for your company? Not so much in terms of the diffusion of technology. I mean, 20k rpm v8s and magnesium alloy trannies are cool but how much of this technology really trickles down into the day car? Hopefully some, but from a business standpoint, it requires more marketing to be successful in "showcasing" technology than actual application.
This would, of course, be an unacceptable cost (1 billion+) to Wiedkling and his corporate cronies who really have no interest in racing heritage (but rather churning out Cayennes and Boxsters), other than its ability to generate profits. Think about it, the only racing team to really utilize their F1 prestige
and technology into their road cars is Ferrari (i.e. Venturi underpanneling, "F1" transmission), and they have a singular business paradigm that does not mesh well with Porsche at all.
I think Porsche could supply engines for a company, but full entry would not be acceptable .