Mercedes and Ferrari deny allegations of underhanded tactics to break Red Bull deal
Mercedes and Ferrari have insisted they are not trying to sever the potential link between Red Bull and Porsche, who are about to enter F1. Red Bull has been in imperious form this year leading the constructors' championship, while its driver Max Verstappen leads the drivers' championship.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Red Bull would form a partnership with Porsche in time for the 2026 season, while Audi would also enter the sport. But progress has been slowed due to F1 teams not being able to agree on a formula for a new engine.
And Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto have denied any suggestion of underhanded tactics coming into play. up," Wolff said. "We gave the H [engine], which was a huge thing to welcome newcomers. We were told that by the end of the year we will have confirmation of their membership.
"That confirmation wasn't given until today, I don't know why - it's an environment where regulations will change all the time. So you can't make it dependent on regulation, that's something we can expect from them as well because we've made great strides towards them. Let's make those final stops on the rules. We'd like them to be part of the show. They're sitting on the table negotiating these regulations for a while but have not yet committed.”
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And Binotto added: "We're very positive. We're very positive because it's great for F1, it's great to have more manufacturers and it's great to have Volkswagen Audi Group within of our company and our Formula 1 championship.
"I think we did everything we could try to accommodate, to make sure they were happy. We took out the H, we did that just to try and help them get into F1 and, believe that for us, removing the H is something that may not be the best choice.
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"It's a trade-off because we're discussing the budget cap. It's a trade-off because these are technologies that we know quite well, it's very high-efficiency technology, which is great for F1. So I think overall again we're very positive and constructive.
“Now why is it taking so long? as current manufacturers, the FIA because they're the ones who sort of lead the discussions. I also think that for Audi and Porsche, the regulations are not ready. These are always open points and these open points just need to be addressed , discussed and agreed.”
Mercedes and Ferrari have insisted they are not trying to sever the potential link between Red Bull and Porsche, who are about to enter F1. Red Bull has been in imperious form this year leading the constructors' championship, while its driver Max Verstappen leads the drivers' championship.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Red Bull would form a partnership with Porsche in time for the 2026 season, while Audi would also enter the sport. But progress has been slowed due to F1 teams not being able to agree on a formula for a new engine.
And Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto have denied any suggestion of underhanded tactics coming into play. up," Wolff said. "We gave the H [engine], which was a huge thing to welcome newcomers. We were told that by the end of the year we will have confirmation of their membership.
"That confirmation wasn't given until today, I don't know why - it's an environment where regulations will change all the time. So you can't make it dependent on regulation, that's something we can expect from them as well because we've made great strides towards them. Let's make those final stops on the rules. We'd like them to be part of the show. They're sitting on the table negotiating these regulations for a while but have not yet committed.”
READ MORE: French GP 'problem' expected after Hamilton and Verstappen complaint
And Binotto added: "We're very positive. We're very positive because it's great for F1, it's great to have more manufacturers and it's great to have Volkswagen Audi Group within of our company and our Formula 1 championship.
"I think we did everything we could try to accommodate, to make sure they were happy. We took out the H, we did that just to try and help them get into F1 and, believe that for us, removing the H is something that may not be the best choice.
CAN'T MISS Max Verstappen expects Lewis Hamilton to repeat [INSIGHT]Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen 'don't have a connection' [COMMENT]F1 fans think Wolff has already decided to replace Lewis Hamilton [ANALYSIS]
"It's a trade-off because we're discussing the budget cap. It's a trade-off because these are technologies that we know quite well, it's very high-efficiency technology, which is great for F1. So I think overall again we're very positive and constructive.
“Now why is it taking so long? as current manufacturers, the FIA because they're the ones who sort of lead the discussions. I also think that for Audi and Porsche, the regulations are not ready. These are always open points and these open points just need to be addressed , discussed and agreed.”
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