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Ousted Domenicali working on VW F1 entry?

LONDON, England - Reports that Audi is contemplating a future in Formula 1 are once again gathering steam, according to the BBC.

Rumours were refuelled recently when ousted Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali resurfaced at Audi, one of the Volkswagen-owned automakers.

He started work in November 2014 but Audi said his role was limited to the areas of service and mobility rather than motor sport.

AUDI F1 ENTRY IN THE WORKS?

The BBC reported that Domenicali is in fact "conducting a feasibility study into a potential F1 entry" for Volkswagen.

The report has curiously coincided with news Bernie Ecclestone may soon be marginalised in his role, as the F1 chief executive and his VW counterpart Ferdinand Piech "have long had a difficult relationship", according to BBC correspondent Andrew Benson.

Benson said: "At least one of them would need to leave their current position before a VW Group brand could enter F1."

Impending changes at VW might also pave the road to F1, as former team owner and boss Eddie Jordan claims chairman "Martin Winterkorn is being groomed as Piech's successor".

Jordan, now a BBC pundit, said Winterkorn "has always believed that F1 is a great platform for the group's brands. I am told he privately believes VAG (Volkswagen AG) should be a part of F1."

Winterkorn told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag in November 2014: "Our brands in motor sport are as successful as ever, whether in the DTM with Audi or Le Mans with Audi and Porsche, or in the world rally championship with Volkswagen.

"We feel we have a really good position."

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