Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has reiterated his threat to pull the Italian manufacturer out of Formula 1 if the rules are changed in such a way that the engines and the technology side of the sport are dumbed down.
Liberty Media announced plans to introduce a simpler engine formula from 2021 with greater standardised parts in order to attract new manufacturers and to reduce costs, but Marchionne descibed the changes as "playing NASCAR globally", referring to the fact the cars would start to become too similar like a one-make series.
A recent announcement to bring Alfa Romeo – a sister company of Ferrari under the FCA brand – back to F1 with Sauber led many to believe Marchionne's threats were little more than a power play, but the Italian businessman insists they remain serious pending Liberty's future plan.
"Our position is clear: the agreement that we made with Sauber expires in 2020, just in case Ferrari is not in F1 [after that date].
"This possibility [of quitting] is serious. The differences are not small, but Chase [Carey, F1 CEO] and I share the belief that we should find a meeting point for the good of the sport.
"We have been very clear on the points that Ferrari cannot give up: the importance of the development of technology is essential for us. We cannot make the cars equal to the point that they can no longer be recognisable on the technological front.
"We have doubled the efforts to find a solution with Chase, but we have no way given up our goals."
Marchionne also described Liberty's plans to introduce a budget cap "impossible", despite wanting to reduce spending himself.
"I'm the first to want to reduce expenses, but trying to manage a budget cap is almost impossible," he added.
"We, for example, have a number of people of the GT programme that at times also operate in the context of Formula 1, so it is almost impossible to control the management of staff."
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