Formula One commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone believes there is some sort of gentleman’s agreement between Mercedes and Ferrari, describing the two rivals as “Siamese twins”.
This is Ecclestone’s latest barb in what has become a growing rift between him and F1’s engine manufacturers. The 85-year-old recently warned that Mercedes and Ferrari’s duopoly could end up destroying the sport altogether.
The tensions started rising after the Scuderia vetoed engine cost-capping plans, with Ecclestone also hinting that Mercedes was blocking measures for cheaper power units in order to retain its current advantage.
“I think there's an agreement between Mercedes and Ferrari at the moment,” he told Auto Motor und Sport in a wide-ranging interview.
“They are a bit like Siamese twins who are joined at the hip. One does not do anything without the other.
“I do not know whether this is true, but I have been told that Mercedes has slightly helped Ferrari on the technical side of things. This is why Ferrari has closed the gap in 2015 and is happy. Basically, there are both rowing in the same boat.”
The latest meeting of the World Motor Sport Council gave Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt extra power “to make recommendations and decisions regarding a number of pressing issues in Formula One such as governance, Power Units and cost reduction”.
Commenting on this special mandate, the F1 supremo said: “We cannot put the control of F1 in the hands of two teams”.
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