Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says the team could quit F1 if power unit regulations are changed without its approval.
With Ferrari vetoing attempts from FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone to impose a maximum cost on power units which are supplied to customers, the FIA then explored the idea of an alternate power unit regulation. While those plans are currently on hold, the power unit manufacturers have to submit proposals by January which focus on:
- Guarantee of the supply of Power Units to teams
- The need to lower the cost of Power Units to customer teams
- Simplification of the technical specification of the power units
- Improved noise
If the FIA is unhappy with the proposals, it will look to force through changes which Marchionne says could lead to Ferrari quitting the sports.
"Ferrari would find other ways to express its ability to race and to win," Marchionne is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. "It would be a huge shame [if Ferrari quit], but Ferrari cannot be put in a corner on its knees and say nothing.
"Now, the rules are written in a way that serves lawyers, who interpret them. In November 2014, it was clear that it would be possible to use tokens for power unit development - and this was something that, in a sense, saved Ferrari's season. But we need to simplify the rules and create more manageable regulations - where we should not be supported by lawyers, but by engineers, as it was a few years ago."
And Marchionne is also unhappy with Todt and Ecclestone receiving more power to make changes to F1, saying the power unit manufacturers should have a say in future regulations.
"It's a choice that we obviously do not share, because we believe that the development of the regulations should be done in a coordinated manner. This view is also shared by the Mercedes and Renault. Here we spend hundreds of millions of Euros, so we are talking about decisions that should not be taken lightly.
"The problem is that in trying to create a power unit that is more affordable for smaller teams, we are in a way taking away from those organisations that are able to develop. And that is the reason why we go racing. We go to the track to prove to ourselves and to everyone our ability to manage the power unit. If we begin to undermine this advantage, Ferrari has no intention of racing.
"If we make Formula One like NASCAR, we would lose the advantage of experience in track solutions, which can then have an impact on production. I understand very well the difficulties that smaller teams face, but this is something that FOM has to solve; it is not something Ferrari has to solve."
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