Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto admitted that the Italian side will consider the interests of Formula 1 as a whole when it voices its opinion on whether the sport should postpone next year’s regulation overhaul. The coronavirus crisis has severely disrupted F1’s calendar, with the opening three months of the season literally wiped out by cancellations and postponements.
The potential loss of revenue for F1 and for its teams could wreak havoc on the finances of the midfield teams in a season when everyone is set to run double developments programs associated with the current campaign – once it gets underway – but also with next year’s big rule changes.
Postponing the introduction of the 2021 rulebook by a year would help alleviate the smaller teams’ financial burden. In a recent call with Formula 1 and the teams, Ferrari requested more time to consider the proposal, but all signs point to the Scuderia being onboard with idea.
“We will have a conference call with all the other teams, F1 and FIA to discuss the situation and the impact it has not only on this season but also on the next one,” Mattia Binotto told Fortmula1.com’s Lawrence Baretto – “We must carefully evaluate every aspect and see if it is not really the case to think about possibly postponing the introduction of the new 2021 technical rules. In any case, Ferrari is ready to take responsibility for a choice that must be made in the ultimate interest of this sport, it is certainly not the time for selfishness and tactics.” – he explained.
After Italy’s stringent lockdown was implemented two weeks ago, Ferrari’s factories were closed. But the Scuderia officially started on Thursday the mandatory three-week ‘spring break’ that replaces next summer’s shutdown.
However, the race schedule moving forward for F1 remains up in the air for everyone, which means a major conundrum for teams in terms of this year’s development programs.
“Everything is obviously pending,” commented Mattia Binotto – “Before the shutdown, we tried to recalibrate the development programs on the basis of various calendar hypotheses but, obviously, we must wait for the evolution of the spread of coronavirus in the world and its effects on the resumption of activities. Only when we have a more precise picture will we be able to understand what we will be able to bring to the track in the first Grand Prix of the season. We have to understand how the situation will develop but we hope that we can go back to running as soon as possible, once the conditions are right. For our part, we are ready to support F1 and the FIA in this delicate phase. There is a need for serenity now, to be together with our families and to recharge the batteries,” added the Swiss engineer. These three weeks of shutdown – an anticipation of the summer break – will serve to fill up your energy and then to push hard in the following months, when we will have two challenges to face at the same time, that of 2020 and that of the 2021 project.” – he concluded.
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