Mercedes signed up to Formula 1’s new Concorde Agreement while accepting some compromises, says its team principal Toto Wolff.
Last week, F1 announced that all ten teams had signed up to the agreement, which covers 2021 to 2025.
New technical regulations are set to come into play in 2022, after a budget cap of $145 million is introduced next year – all aimed at making the field more competitive.
Before all teams had signed up, Mercedes announced that it was not yet ready to put pen to paper over the agreement, as it was unhappy with certain aspects of the deal.
However, Wolff says the Mercedes negotiated with F1’s commercial rights holders Liberty Media to get the best possible solution, which included compromises for the team.
“Look, it is a negotiation at the end of the day,” Wolff said. “I have great respect for Chase Carey and the complications in dealing with all the stakeholders, everybody will have a different agenda and different objectives.
“On the other side, why I was vocal was that I felt that Mercedes’ role, particularly in the last seven years, wasn’t maybe recognised in the way I would have wished for in terms of the financial split.
“But on the other side, I think he tried hard to create a better show, to balance the prize fund distribution better, and I think he achieved it.
“Obviously I would have wished a better situation for Mercedes but it is what it is. In the final part of the negotiations we agreed on some compromises that found its way into the agreement, and it’s like with every negotiation, at the end of the day if both stand up from the table and are not quite satisfied it’s probably a good outcome.”
Wolff admits that Mercedes could have achieved more from the new agreement, but understands that the current outcome may help teams work together going forward.
“I think we are all having the feeling that maybe we could have achieved more,” he said. “But that is maybe an outcome that is good for working together in the future.
“If one party stands up and says, ‘I just got the best deal’, the other one will feel aggrieved.”
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