Mercedes Issue Fresh Threats to Liberty Media

It is no secret that F1 owners, Liberty Media and Ferrari and Mercedes are at loggerheads over the 2021 change in engine regulations and budget caps. Their war of words has been well-documented and they had earlier issued threats of quitting the sport.

But now, those threats seem more credible. At least that is what Niki Lauda states. The F1 legend serves as chairman of Mercedes’ F1 program.

Lauda said, “There is a limit for the top teams. It’s possible that one or the other will get out if it goes in the wrong direction.”

Mercedes have also been given the green light to participate in Formula E and they had recently announced their progress in getting a car ready for the all-electric series when they join in the 2019/20 season.

Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff had also expressed his admiration for the series. “Only three years ago, I would not have given Formula E a chance. But times have changed”, Wolff told Bild newspaper.

In the same interview, he had also stated that F1 is important for Mercedes. He said, ”Formula 1 is the only global platform that transports our brand.”

There have been a lot of discussions over the changes in regulations that Liberty Media want to implement in F1 over the years. It has not received too much support for their proposals and that will be essential if they want to revolutionize the sport as they claim.

Ferrari and Mercedes are important cogs of the F1 machinery as the reputation they bring along is part of F1’s global appeal. If any of these teams were to bow out of the sport, it could severely affect F1’s popularity and this will surely not be a good situation.

There needs to better dialogues between the owners and teams if this situation is to be resolved in a viable manner.