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Mercedes does not share our values - Ferrari

ESPN Staff
November 10, 2014 « Big teams have an agenda - Sauber | Third car too expensive for Red Bull »
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Marco Mattiacci says Mercedes does not share the same values as Ferrari after talks about F1's engine freeze broke down during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

Freeze or thaw?

  • Red Bull's Christian Horner also criticised Mercedes in Brazil, saying "it's all rather frustrating because we sit down and talk about things; you leave the room and think you have agreed to something and then it changes." Toto Wolff said both sides were guilty of changing their minds throughout the weekend and re-iterated his concern about the huge costs an engine thaw would cause. Protecting Mercedes' position of dominance is surely a factor, too. The discussions will resume this week but it seems the two sides are no closer to resolving anything than they were before Interlagos.
  • Read ESPN's Final Stint here

Ferrari and Red Bull are leading the charge for an in-season window to work on engines, with development currently restricted to a token system over the winter. Mercedes offered a compromise allowing a smaller amount of tokens to be used during that window than its rivals initially proposed, leading to the talks collapsing at Interlagos.

Mattiacci is under no illusions why a solution could not be found in Brazil.

"We keep discussing but there is some other player that keeps changing idea," Mattiacci said. "But we keep working; we don't give up on a very fundamental principal of Formula One that is innovating and competing. Probably someone does not share these values of Formula One. I have to tell you at the same time we must appreciate the fact everyone is trying to meet a middle ground. It is clear it has to be fair enough for everyone to really change what is happening [the stand-off between sides]"

Mattiacci, who became Ferrari team principal in April, thinks common ground needs to be found between all F1's teams on all of its current issues, including the ongoing speculation about third cars being run in 2015.

"I think we should have a common agenda, a serious common agenda, to improve the sport, the revenues, the entertainment. I don't think it's difficult, I think it's complexed. Everyone wants a better solution but we need to find a way to work. I've been here five months so I'm not the game-changer in this case but as usual Ferrari will do the utmost to be sure Formula One will keep being successful."

Since going into administration it has emerged Marussia owes money to Ferrari for its engines for 2014. Mattiacci says Ferrari - who recently rejected suggestions it give up its large share of the sport's revenues - is working to resolve this, something he thinks shows the team cares about all of F1's teams.

"At the moment we are working [on a resolution]. This is just to confirm how Ferrari has been supporting completely the so-called small teams. We keep working because we believe, if we get help, we will give, but again it has to be in a broader picture. We need to start to talk strategically, not just tactically of how to put a page here and there."

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