“We Are the Biggest Victim”-Toto Wolff Opens up on Why Mercedes F1 Isn’t Ready to Sign a New Concorde Agreement

Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff opened on why the team wasn’t ready yet to sign the new Concorde Agreement. Wolff believes Mercedes is the “biggest victim” due to a lack of prize funds at the end of the season. The Austrian also added that Ferrari and Red Bull gain an unfair advantage over Mercedes.

For the uninitiated, the Concorde Agreement is a contractually binding understanding between the FIA, the teams, and the Formula One Group (liberty media). The agreement includes a wide range of topics ranging from distribution of prize money to how F1 teams participate in races.

Wolff: Mercedes has contributed to the sport

There have been 7 Concorde Agreements in total, with F1 set to introduce an eighth that will come into effect from 2021.

Apart from Mercedes, most F1 teams are ready to sign the new contract. But the reason behind the German team’s reluctance has to do primarily with the inequality in revenue distribution.

“We in Mercedes made it very clear that we are happy with a more equitable split of the prize fund,” said Wolff, at the pre-race presser.

“We are, I would say, the biggest victim in terms of prize fund loss in all of that. Ferrari has maintained an advantageous position, for Red Bull obviously it balances out with Toro Rosso [AlphaTauri], so it’s us that are hurt the most.

Scuderia Ferrari is the only team on the grid which receives a ‘special bonus’ annually, amounting to a significant value.

“I feel that Mercedes has contributed to the sport over the last years,”

“Apart from being competitive on track, we have the driver that has clearly the most global appeal “And we feel that, while being in those negotiations we weren’t treated in the way we should have been”

“Therefore there is a bunch of open topics for us that are legal, commercial and sporting, and in our point of view, I don’t feel ready to sign a Concorde Agreement.”

Despite Wolff’s very compelling argument, F1 issued an official statement saying it wouldn’t delay the new agreement past its August 12 deadline. It’s unlikely for any extreme developments to transpire regarding Mercedes’ F1 future. But it will be interesting to see whether Mercedes can reach a compromise.

Source: F1.com