Racing Point agrees that Concorde deal needs 'more work'

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Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer echoed Mercedes' recent view that Formula 1's Concorde Agreement still requires some fine-tuning.

At Silverstone last week, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the all-important confidential document which binds teams to the sport's commercial, financial and governance provisions still included many "open topics" that prevented the German manufacturer from signing the agreement.

Szafnauer agrees that several points remain up for debate, while the early deadline imposed by F1 to sign and seal the agreement has been pushed back from today, August 12, to August 18. Teams who put pen to paper by this date will be awarded a financial bonus, while the hard deadline has now been set at August 31.

'Mistreated' Mercedes rejects new Concorde Agreement!

"The majority of the Concorde to us is fine," Szafnauer said. "But around the edges, there is still a lot of stuff around the periphery that we aren't fine with.

"Maybe another way to say it is there still needs some work for us to agree. So it's not 100%. But it's over 80% there.

"If we were to decide today, or asked to sign today, we would want more work on the 10% or the 5% around the edges."

Szafnauer said the small modifications he was still looking for involve fine print related to governance and money aspects of the deal.

"There's some money things, but more in the governance," he said. "We're getting close to what we want, but it could be better."

Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Haas have all said that they are ready to commit to the new Concorde Agreement, while Red Bull's Christian Horner has expressed his confidence that all teams will eventually come in line to seal the deal.

"You have to take a bit of a holistic view on these things," Horner said last weekend. "You’re never going to get everything you want. I’m sure it will be concluded in the coming days."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.