“They are playing with fire”, Marchionne repeats Ferrari quit threat

Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne has repeated his threat of pulling the Italian manufacturer out of Formula 1 after 2020 if the future direction of the sport doesn’t match its ideals and has speculated it could set-up a rival championship.

Last month Ferrari issued a quit call from F1 against new owners Liberty Media’s initial plans for the future rules of the sport. Marchionne took a particular focus at standardising engines in the sport claiming it goes “against the DNA of Formula 1”. While previous quit threats have fallen of deaf ears, the initial reaction to the latest comments from Marchionne have been met tentatively while Liberty is keen to have talks on future deals with Ferrari in F1.

At Ferrari’s media pre-Christmas lunch in Maranello, Marchionne has taken aim at ex-Ferrari head Ross Brawn who now heads up the sporting managing director role in the new F1 management under Liberty.

“The thing that most annoys me is that there is an experienced man like Ross Brawn there who is looking for ways that go against the DNA of Formula One,” Marchionne is quoted by Gazzetta dello Sport. “Making cars all the same with simpler and cheaper engines is like NASCAR, it doesn’t interest us.

“We need to find a balanced solution for the future that satisfies everyone and I think we will do it in time. Otherwise Ferrari will leave. If they sceptics think we are bluffing, they are playing with fire.”

With the majority of F1 team contracts expiring at the end of the 2020 season, Marchionne has also fuelled speculation about Ferrari leaving the sport and brining other teams with it to set up a new series. Currently, Ferrari supplies engines to Haas and Sauber while it recently secured a rebranding deal through its sister marque Alfa Romeo with the Swiss squad from 2018.

“I think that Ferrari has the strength to drag others as well to an alternative championship,” he said.