Ferrari’s main target for the 2022 Formula 1 season is to establish itself. This is what Ferrari wants to do this season, both on and foff track. Indeed, the plans are much more ambitious given that Maranello intends to open a winning cycle for the following years. For this to happen, something else is also needed: it is necessary to be on top even where the decision-making processes of motorsport develop.
It is a rather incontrovertible fact that over the years the Italian team – especially after the exit of Jean Todt who was impossible to replace from this point of view – has been weak at every negotiating table. Today Ferrari needs to adapt its ability to express political power to those qualities that are showing on the track. The new Concorde Agreement, particularly rewarding for the men in red from a financial point of view, is an element which tells us that something is evolving in the internal governance of the Prancing Horse. But that’s not enough. To continue to excel in Formula 1, it is necessary to stop the expansion of others.
An operation that had already begun when Ferrari was one of the main obstacles in Toto Wolff’s dreaded rise to the throne of the FIA. Official confirmations never arrived, of course, but rather credible drafts from serious sources explained that if the hypothesis of seeing the Austrian Mercedes manager at the head of the FIA did not materialize because Ferrari did not want in that position.
That politics is a latent struggle that is waged daily. A new front has opened up on the presence of new engine manufacturers who would like to join Formula 1 in 2026, when we will see the new generation of power units as an engine development freeze will be impoised until then. This is why Ferrari is trying to prevent a privilege reserved for new companies that Red Bull could indirectly enjoy.
“We are happy to be able to compete with brands such as Porsche and Audi but the goal of the financial rules needs to be defined as well as the subject of what it means to be a new participant and what benefits they can enjoy. It is also important to define the area of the transfer of intellectual property which should not be possible. The issues must be finalized by June” – these were the words of Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto putting on the table a series of very thorny issues that directly hinted at Red Bull, according to funoanalisitecnica.com.
Let’s briefly reconstruct the facts: the Volkswagen group is about to get past its reservations about its entry into F1 after years of “flirting” with the category. It could do this in several ways. First of all by directly acquiring a team (there has been a lot of talk about McLaren). But also by acting as a simple engine supplier. And then there is the third way: joining a team by becoming a strategic partner and exploiting its know-how. Who better than Red Bull, which has set up its powertrains department thanks to the skills inherited from Honda, could appeal to the German automobile giant.
Ferrari is moving cautiously but with determination to prevent Red Bull from enjoying advantages if this marriage of interests will indeed become a reality. Chris Horner, the big boss of operations of the Mateschitz team, is convinced that the team he represents will be able to count, starting from 2026, on 25 million dollars divided for three seasons and above all on additional time made available to the FIA for work on the test bench. These financial and legal devices would be under consideration and Red Bull would also like to benefit from them since it feels like a new manufacturer. But is it?
The question is a matter for lawyers because the wording is being played out. To date Red Bull and AlphaTauri appear to be supplied by Red Bull Powertrains. Therefore, according to Ferrari, the Milton Keynes engine department will not be able to enjoy the status of new engine manufacturer starting from 2026 that Horner is clamoring for.
How does the British executive think to justify the self-conferred position of the new manufacturer? With a fairly unique theory that goes something like this: the 2022-2025 engines are Honda as evidenced by the HRC brand on the sides of the RB18 and AT03 and the wording Red Bull Powertrains would only be a commercial operation for now. Clearly, the facts are not quite like this and Ferrari is firmly opposed to the idea that the world runners-up can, with an interpretative subterfuge, have more money and above all more development time.
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