Discussions with Scuderia Ferrari over their future in Formula One will include the controversial issue of their power to veto F1 rules changes, FIA president Jean Todt has recently confirmed: “It is decades that Ferrari has what is called this veto right.” – Jean Todt told a media briefing in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari have held their veto power since the eighties – “When we are going to discuss about the renewal of the agreement, it is part of the things which will be discussed.” – he explained.
Scuderia Ferrari last exercised its veto in 2015 to block a rules change requiring manufacturers to supply engines at lower prices. The team’s commitment to F1 beyond the end of 2020 is in doubt. Last year Italian-Canadian executive Sergio Marchionne, he Chairman and CEO of Ferrari, said that the Maranello team will leave the sport if it does not approve of changes to the regulations planned for 2021. However Jean Todt, who managed Ferrari’s F1 team between 1994 and 2007, said both they and the sport would be worse off if they did not continue together.
“Am I afraid to see Mercedes or Ferrari leave? That’s their choice. What is sure, we do not want anybody to leave. But of course Ferrari is one of the iconic brands. It’s a company, a team, which has been participating in every single Formula 1 championship since its creation. So I don’t want to see Ferrari leaving, I’m not sure if it would be a good thing for Ferrari to leave Formula 1, because why it is a unique brand is because it’s such combined between racing and road cars. I think it will be also painful for Ferrari not to be in Formula 1, but that’s not my responsibility anymore.” – the former General Manager of Scuderia Ferrari concluded, as reported by the British media earlier today.
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