18/07/2020
NEWS STORY
Earlier this week, Toto Wolff admitted that he would be happy to see the current Concorde Agreement extended.
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has turned the sport upside down and inside out, and things like the agreement - which essentially binds the sport together - has been put on the back-burner.
However, Wolff's comment shouldn't be seen as an act of benevolence as the sport slowly recovers from the pandemic, rather a way of saying 'we'll sign when we're good and happy with what's on the table, and currently that isn't the case'.
Understandably, the new agreement, which will form part of the sport's objective to level the playing field, is popular with the smaller teams who stand to benefit most, however speaking in Hungary, Mattia Binotto, team boss of Ferrari, traditionally the team that has to be dragged kicking and screaming into any kind of agreement that might benefit its rivals, claims that the Italian team is ready to sign on the dotted line also.
"The Concorde Agreement and where we are today is the output of long discussions we have between the teams and certainly with the F1," he said.
"As far as Ferrari, we are ready to sign," he added. "We would like to sign it even, I think, quite soon.
"I think that's important for the future," he continued. "For clarity, at least we can all know where we are.
"I think it's important as well for the small teams, somehow because that's part of the entire, let me say, package. So, looking ahead with clarity is important.
"So somehow ready to sign. I think we are as well somehow happy because we know that F1 has understood the importance of the role of Ferrari within F1. And for us that was key. And somehow satisfied from that."
However, at Racing Point - a team which has an, ahem, close relationship with Mercedes, Otmar Szafnauer clearly isn't as eager to sign as his Ferrari counterpart.
"This was a logical incrementalism to get to this point," he said. "I think a lot of work has gone into it and I don't think we're that far off to having something that we can all sign but there's still a few talking points which I think will happen in the short term."
While at McLaren...
"McLaren Racing is fully committed to Formula One, and we are ready to sign this new agreement imminently," said Zak Brown.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Budapest, here.