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During a visit to the Geneva International Motor Show - as a paying punter, not a wined-and-dined media member - it became apparent that motor manufacturers are, publicly at least, shying away from the bragging rights endowed by motorsport successes and usually seized upon by victorious brands, for both image purposes and as proof of engineering prowess.
The Volkswagen Group rolled out not a single competition car there, yet the VW roundel and Audi's Four Rings were on display - on a Formula E racer on performance partner Abt's stand. Indeed, FE cars outnumbered the various Formula 1 chassis on display, including historic grand prix machinery.
In Geneva, Renault gave its F1 and FE cars equal billing. Equally, the only current reference to Renault's racing pedigree at its flagship shop situated on the Champs-Elysees in Paris is a Formula E show car. F1? Relegated to toy shelves, where black/yellow models vie for space with Red Bulls.
