Builders upset by Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone found support following his statements about manufacturers. The director of the FOM compared them in the Daily Mail to “a cartel” by criticizing the power of the latter regarding the choice of client teams that the financier of the F1 would have liked to influence.

“I don’t believe there is any cartel. Bernie loves controversy. We wouldn’t be here that was the case”, said Toto wolff, the executive director of Mercedes Motorsport. “Some of us are part of multinational companies and we take compliance very seriously. It makes the headlines but nothing more”, commented Toto Wolff, executive director of Mercedes Motorsport.

“This cartel thing is simply ridiculous”, added Maurizio Arrivabene, director of the Team Ferrari. “We are talking here about brands that have a long history that they are not going to throw out the window. They don't deserve such comments... If I have dinner with Toto or Cyril (Abiteboul, the director general of Renault Sport F1 Team, am I part of a cartel? »

“I do not agree with this definition of cartel for the simple reason that we are in a competitive environment”, declared Cyril Abiteboul for his part. “Ferrari wants to win against Mercedes and we can hope that one day the same will happen for Renault. It must be understood that only a certain number of manufacturers have the financial capacity to meet the costs of this technology in accordance with the regulations accepted by all. »

Christian Horner, director of Red Bull Racing, on the other hand had a much less clear-cut opinion on the issue since his team found itself without a contract with an engine manufacturer for the 2016 season at the end of last year before extending with Renault to have a Power Unit rebadged Tag Heuer .

“Bernie's frustration is understandable and his statements stem from his inability to make a difference. The current dynamic of F1 is based on the significant strength of the manufacturers… As an independent team, we depend on the manufacturers to provide us with an engine”, commented the Briton.