Helmut Marko has threatened that Red Bull will leave F1 at the end of 2020 if technical and economic rules do not meet the team's expectations. In fact, a war began with the Americans for money. Here's what's at stake in the discussion …
The Formula 1 engines will be homologated within a month, but racing action will not officially resume until mid-March at the Melbourne Circuit, which will host the first Grand Prix of the 2019 season. But in fact, the disputes between the Formula 1 teams only changed the environment - instead of boxes and tracks, they take place in the offices where the representatives of the teams meet.
On the tables are the rules that will shape Formula 1 2021 when royal races could change dramatically. Not only new technical regulations are being discussed (probably, it will not differ much from the existing one), but above all new rules that will relate to sports and economic issues.
In recent weeks, there have been rumors of a highly irritated Red Bull management. Helmut Marko threw a classic stone into the pond: “We have an agreement until 2020. Until there is a final engine regulation and Agreement of Consent, neither Red Bull nor Honda will finally decide anything."
Focusing on engines is dust in the eyes, which should provide an opportunity to blackmail even such a significant figure as a manufacturer, namely Honda, by withdrawing from the championship.
There are two thorny issues that, as it turned out, annoy Marco: the budget limit and the criteria by which the prize money will be distributed starting in 2021. Regarding the second point, Liberty's intentions are very clear and have long been known.
The goal is to revise the criteria for the distribution of the prize pool, significantly increasing Article A of the system that now regulates the division (that is, the amount that is paid in equal parts to each team) - today it is 27.5 million euros - due to historical benefits that now reserved for Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams.
The latest rumors suggest that in the case of Red Bull, the reduction could exceed 30 million euros. Marco apparently didn't like it.
From here, his position becomes clear, which this time hints at a likely exit.
“There is another choice,” he continued, “we could compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Valkyrie under the WEC Hypercar rules. If Formula 1 introduces a cost limit, then we will need to cut staff. And we don't want that. Therefore, we could consider other projects, for example, Le Mans."
Overall, a budget limitation would be an effective solution for racing, which would significantly expand the opportunity to achieve the podium, even for those teams that are currently on the path of active development.
However, this is about practical application, since the only viable way would be to introduce to each team the FIA staff, “commissioners” who would know all the activities of the team, including trade secrets.
There were cases when FIA technicians who held relevant positions came to the teams after resignation: Laurent Meckis - at Ferrari, Marcin Budkowski - at Renault.
