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Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has warned that Formula 1's most iconic team are in disagreement with new F1 owners Liberty Media over their proposals for engines beyond 2020.
F1's owners revealed their engine blueprint for 2021 earlier this week but their initial outlines, which include removing the MGU-H, have already been met with scepticism by manufacturers - and Ferrari are the first team to have threatened to stop racing entirely.
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says Ferrari might quit F1
Marchionne said that while he agreed with cutting costs, he was not happy with the direction Liberty Media were taking F1. “F1 has been part of our DNA since the day we were born," he said. "But if we change the sandbox to the point where it becomes an unrecognizable sandbox, I don't want to play anymore."
Strong words from F1 most iconic team’s president, and with other teams agreeing, surely the new American owners have to sit up. Formula 1 racing without Ferrari is unthinkable, and could be damaging beyond repair for the sport. But Marchionne’s threat was real.
F1 without Ferrari would be damaging to F1's reputation
Asked how he would feel about being the chairman who led Ferrari out of the sport, he replied: "Like a million bucks because I'll be working on an alternative strategy to try and replace it. More rational one, too."
Everybody who knows anything about F1, knows that the Monaco Grand Prix and Ferrari are the cornerstones of the sport. Not only are Ferrari F1's most historic team, but they are also the sport's most successful team, too. Accumulating 16 Constructors' Championships and 15 drivers' titles over the years.
Successful teams make more money, that’s life, but Liberty Media, who took charge of F1 in January, have set their sights on levelling the playing field both on and off the track, and their engine plans include cheaper, louder and simpler power units.
Ferrari and the Monaco Grand Prix are the foundations of F1
"Liberty has got a couple of good intentions in all of this, one of which is to reduce the cost of execution for the team, which I think is good," said the Ferrari president. "But the fact is that we now appear to be at odds in terms of the strategic development, and we see the sport in 2021 taking on a different air. It is going to force some decisions on the part of Ferrari. I understand that Liberty may have taken these into account in coming up with their views, but I think it needs to be absolutely clear that unless we find a set of circumstances, the results of which are beneficial to the maintenance of the brand, and the marketplace, and to the strengthening of the unique position for Ferrari, Ferrari will not play."
F1 is a team sport in a challenge to create the fastest car
Strong words indeed, and I believe he has valid points. All brands are in F1 to promote themselves, and limiting engines goes against that. What’s more, it’s just not F1. The sport has always been about the best drivers and the best cars. Other racing sports have a levelled playing field, and that works fine for them, but F1 is a team sport about creating the very best racing car in the biggest of racing arenas.
Marchionne does have hope, however. There’s a meeting in Geneva next week and the planned changes will be top of the bill. "I don't want to prejudge any of this. We're walking into this meeting next Tuesday with the best of intentions,” he said. “We'll see where it takes us. The financial implications of the wrong choice for the moment going forward are pretty significant to Ferrari."
Ferrari have major backing from the sports most successful team in recent years, Mercedes. Toto Wolff, team principal of the sport's four-time champions said, "Certain things are right, but it's not quite there. It is a vision and not yet a regulation. And it's only their vision and not the manufacturer's. It is important to define all together what Formula 1 should be in 2021, not just from the point of view of the engine. What we have is the starting point of a dialogue rather than something we have agreed to."
Toto Wolff says Mercedes are sceptical of Liberty Media's plans
So it seems like a war could assume between the new governing body and the manufacturers. Of course, the sport would be fairer if there were limits on the cost of engines. This would also help the lower teams who struggle to finance their seasons. However, to completely overhaul the engine regulations into trying to make it an even race, takes away everything that is Formula 1. F1 is about teams building the best car they can deliver for their best drivers and long may that continue.
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