Lamborghini wants F1 tilt

Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali wants to see the raging bull in F1. But he says the formula needs to change before his brand can get there.

In a frank interview at this weeks Aventador S launch, the Italian executive said he would love to see Lamborghini compete in F1 but conceded it is a long-term goal at best.

The former Ferrari F1 supremo and now Lamborghini boss told motoring.com.au: "You're touching a very sensitive part of my heart [but] I want to be very open with you. Today, we have other priorities, and we have to be totally focussed on...

"Tomorrow? Because motorsport will always be part of Lamborghini, if the [F1] motorsport platform will change and we have the solidity as a company… The answer is why not? It could be."

Having worked for Ferrari for 20 years, the affable 51-year-old cautioned that it wouldn't happen "in the medium term" as there were "other priorities for us that are vital."

The company is currently focussed on expanding its passenger vehicle range beyond its two supercars, the V10 Huracan and V12 Aventador, to include the Urus, a V8 turbo-petrol SUV.

The SUV will be a game-changer say company insiders, insisting it is a vehicle that will not only snatch the title of world's fastest SUV from Bentley but will also double the company's global annual sales by 2019.

In order to meet the expected demand when Urus goes on sale in 2018, the Audi-owned Italian company will hire 500 more staff and expand its factory to create a new line at its Sant'Agata plant.

It's conceivable that profits from this new model could help fund a new motorsports push for Lamborghini, but the exotic car maker's parent companies, Audi and VW, have out of high-level racing recently.

An F1 tilt would require a significant re-think of how the company and group approaches motorsport.

Nevertheless, the change in tone from Domenicali reveals a desire to further immerse the brand in motorsport as a factory team, not just a supplier as is currently the case for Super Trofeo and GT3 race series.

Domenicali presided over the Ferrari Formula One team between 2008 and 2013, clinching a constructor's championships in 2008. He has intimate knowledge of what's required to be competitive in the sport but cautioned that the prohibitive cost of F1 is a major barrier to entry.

"For us to enter there with the level of cost that is needed, not just to compete but to be competitive, is too far from what we're doing.

"So if we see a bridge of change in that specific environment, I think it's worth looking at it," Domenicali stated.