Wolff optimistic heading into crunch F1 meeting

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff feels "optimistic" heading into next week's crunch meeting to outline Formula 1's future from 2021.

Officials from all 10 teams will meet with F1's governing body, the FIA, and the commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, in London on Tuesday to try and make a breakthrough in outlining the landscape for the sport from 2021 onwards.

The existing sporting, technical and commercial agreements are set to expire at the end of 2020, making the 2021 season a break point for a number of areas in the sport, but progress has been limited so far in talks between the stakeholders.

One of the key changes desired by many for 2021 is the introduction of a cost cap to help make the grid more competitive and introduce a more equitable share of revenue between teams.

Speaking at the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes chief Wolff said he was hopeful of a breakthrough being made at the London meeting as teams begin to look at preparing for the change in regulations.

"I feel that there is some momentum in the process, and we are all keen on understanding how 2021 looks," Wolff said.

"Mercedes is certainly interested in having a cost cap implemented at the right levels so that it makes sense for everybody: get the big teams on board in a way that is implementable, and cap us to make sure we are not running away with it with higher costs each year.

"Regulations are another building block that is important to get over the line until June.

"Let’s see how it goes after next week, but what I hear is making it optimistic."