Scuderia Ferrari has remained silent after Liberty Media announced in Bahrain that it is pressing ahead with new engine rules and a budget cap for 2021. Earlier, Italian executive and Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne – who was not present for Friday’s key meeting – had warned that changes like those might result in Ferrari quitting the sport.
Amid rumours that Liberty’s budget ceiling will be a little over £81m per team, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agreed that a number like that would be “unworkable”. Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda agreed: “It would mean cutting many jobs, which is something we can’t do in such a short time.”
A Ferrari spokesperson in Bahrain said that the Maranello-based team has no comment. Struggling former great Williams, though, welcomed the proposals: “Not to say that we were on the brink or anywhere close, but with the way the sport is structured today Williams’s survival into the medium and long-term was looking pretty bleak,” said deputy boss Claire Williams – “Everything [Liberty] presented from revenue redistribution to cost caps is absolutely everything that we want to see from 2021 and beyond.”
However, Liberty’s F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn admitted that what was proposed on Friday was more of a starting point than a fait accompli: “The teams need to digest it now and then the discussion proper will start,” he said in Bahrain.
However, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said time is tight, and he is sceptical that Liberty can push through its agenda: “It’s ambitious,” he admitted – “There are lots of big topics – engines, prize fund and budget caps – but the thing is how are going to achieve it?”
Leave a Reply