Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne says he has been encouraged by discussions over Formula 1’s future post-2020.
Formula 1 has been striving to form the framework for the regulations in 2021, with an emphasis on reduced costs, a more equitable revenue system, and noisier, cheaper and simpler engines.
Marchionne, who has been at the helm of Ferrari since 2014, has repeatedly suggested the sport’s longest-serving marque could end its involvement if it is not satisfied with Liberty’s vision.
Speaking during the publication of Ferrari’s 2018 Q1 results, Marchionne expressed optimism over recent talks, though warned that there remain issues the company wants resolving.
“It’s early days, I think we will bring this issue to conclusion vis-à-vis Liberty by the end of this year,” said Marchionne.
“I’m encouraged by the change in the attitude we are seeing from Liberty in terms of the extent of the changes they’re forecasting in 2021.
“Probably the biggest indication has been the recognition of the fact the engine regulations need to reflect the nature of the sport and we can’t really dumb down engine development just to accommodate new entries.
“The stuff that’s on the table now is potentially workable as a system – the economics are not, and I think that’s something we need to go back to Liberty with.
“But I think we now have enough of a basis to start having meaningful discussions, I’m hopeful we’ll get it all resolved by the end of the year one way or another.”
The proposals presented to F1 teams last month also included scope for a budget cap, a concept Marchionne could see “value in” regarding aerodynamic development, but again emphasised the importance of the power unit to Ferrari.
“There’s an opportunity for us to remove some of the excessive R&D costs associated with obtaining what I consider to be marginal benefits from aero development,” he said.
“That can be cured if you agree a set of limits on how much you’ll spend on developing the car.
“The important thing for our standpoint is we don’t touch the nature of the technical development of the powertrain and that’s at the heart of what Ferrari does as a living.
“I don’t think we’re there, we need to keep working with Liberty and the FIA to bring about a sensible equilibrium; if we can't, as I said before, we'll just pull out.
“We’re not there today, we owe the sport a phenomenal effort to bring about closure of these items – we’ll try and get that done by the end of the year.”
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