05/10/2019
NEWS STORY
As Brexit gets ever messier, with the country increasingly divided and the threat of the Prime Minister being sent to jail, so too does Formula One's bid to re-shape the sport by means of the 2021 rules overhaul.
While the smaller teams have long argued for the changes, especially those related to the prize money and spending, the bigger teams, certainly in terms of the technical aspect, have increasingly argued to leave as is.
With Ferrari making clear it is against the move towards more standardised parts, thereby opening the door for open-source, Mercedes insists that at a time engine performance is converging it would be wholly wrong to start making changes.
Ironically, like Brexit, the 2021 rules package has an October deadline, however, in terms of Formula One, Ferrari has an ace up its sleeve, its infamous power of veto, which, according to the prospectus for the planned flotation of F1 on the Singapore stock market in 2012, gives the Italian manufacturer the right to "veto any change to the regulations already announced or introduced (subject to certain exceptions)."
Claiming that it would be a "shame" to use veto, Ferrari boss, Mattia Binotto nevertheless admits that it remains an option.
"We have got the veto right and it would be a shame to use it," said the Italian. "I don't think that's the intention, I don't think that's what we are looking for.
"More important is to be very constructive," he continued. "We've still got a month's time to address the fundamentals by the end of October. If the regulations will not be fully satisfactory by that time I don't think it will be a drama because we still have time to address and improve them."
Other than believing that standardised parts compromise the sport's DNA, like a number of teams, Ferrari claims that the move, combined with the proposed budget cap is the sport essentially telling the teams how much money they can spend and what they can spend it on.
"There are a few things that are important for us," said Binotto, "first the degree of freedom on development, especially with the aerodynamic regulations, which we believe is too prescriptive. And the degree of freedom on other parts of the car where some prescription has been set.
"I think these are the key points and I think there is still room for collaboration and making a different choice compared to what has been achieved so far.
"Again, we're more focused on trying to collaborate and address what we believe is fundamental rather than say 'we've got the veto right'."
Indeed, hopeful that Ferrari can continue to have its right of veto beyond 2020, in May, Binotto said it was good for the sport.
"The veto right is something important for Ferrari," he said, "but I believe it's something important for F1 overall as well because somehow it's not only protecting us but it's protecting all the teams maybe against some decisions which could be against the spirit or the interest of the teams themselves, something that we are starting discussing with both the FIA and F1.
"I think we are doing well in that respect," he added, "and hopefully we can keep the same rights."