24/04/2020
NEWS STORY
Long-time rivals on track, a bitter off-track row is now brewing between McLaren and Ferrari, the two most long-standing teams on the F1 grid.
Just 24 hours after Mattia Binotto warned against the budget cap, almost suggesting that it is being imposed because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Zak Brown hit out at the Italian team.
At a time the teams continue to argue over the limit at which the cap should be set, Ferrari, other than believing that the cap should be two-tier, also warns that the cap will compromise the sport's DNA, and though it would consequently need to "look at other further options for deploying (its) racing DNA", the Italian team is positively, totally, 100% not suggesting that it might leave the sport.
Admittedly almost lost for words, Zak Brown, in a video call, told reporters that he is aghast at Ferrari's attitude.
"I'm almost at a loss what you say to that," said the American. "I think we all recognise that in modern times we are going through the biggest crisis the world has seen. You have countries shut down, industries shut down. To not be in a hurry to address what's going on, I think is a critical mistake.
"It's living in denial," he continued, "and I think you would find pretty much every president or prime minister or CEO around the world was operating in a hurry to tackle this issue head-on. To take our time I think is a very poor leadership strategy.
"We are in a situation where if Formula 1 goes by its old habits, we're all at extreme risk for the future of F1," he warned. "And I think if we think forward and get with the times, we can not only survive what's going on right now, but I ultimately think the sport can thrive and we all win.
"I'm all for a good healthy debate," he added. "But I think the comments that I'm being seen put forward don't stack up, contradict themselves, and don't accurately reflect what I think is reality."
Reacting to Binotto's claim that the cap will lead to heavy job losses, which the Italian says his company has an "ethical duty" to avoid, and that companies like his "play a role in the social fabric of a nation" and "are not just there to make a profit", Brown said: "Unfortunately, there's not many teams, if any, turning a profit.
"I don't believe that the people involved in Formula 1 are involved to drive a profit," he continued, "I think they're there to drive franchise value.
"Each team has a different reasons why they're in F1. And a lot of that is to deliver value to other businesses, whether that's in the drinks business or the road car business."
The gloves now off, Brown used Binotto's use of the word "ethics" to refer to the perceived cover-up over the FIA's investigation into Ferrari's 2019 engine.
"Along the line of ethics, I think it would be great if Mattia would share with us what the details were behind the secret agreement that they came to," said the American.
"I think everyone in this sport has a right to be able to be competitive," he added. "I am absolutely not hiding from the fact that part of this process is that people want to be in F1 to be able to compete, to have a chance to win."
Asked about Christian Horner's suggestion that customer cars might be the answer, Brown was not impressed.
"The last time there were customer cars, I believe, was the 1970s," he said, McLaren one of the go-to manufacturers of customer cars at that time. "So, for Formula 1, which is all about being a constructor, I don't see how that potential solution is consistent with other comments that the DNA of F1 is a constructors' championship and technology evolution: that feels like a solution from the '70s."