Ferrari threaten to quit Formula One in furious row over use of cheaper engines

Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari president, has become embroiled in a furious row with Bernie Ecclestone over the future of Formula One, threatening to walk away if the Italian team do not like the rules.Marchionne hit out at Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive, and Jean Todt, the president of the sport’s governing body, for trying to impose a new, cheaper engine on the field. Last week Ecclestone accused Ferrari of “destroying” the sport.

The Ferrari boss also condemned Red Bull’s “offensive” behaviour over engines, only to then make a threat strikingly similar to the one the drinks company had been making this season: to leave Formula One if the regulations do not suit them. Marchionne’s comments echoed those of Red Bull’s billionaire, Dietrich Mateschitz, who spent all year saying he would pull his teams out of the sport, only to stay in.

“Ferrari would find other ways to express its ability to race and to win,” Marchionne said on Monday (Tuesday NZ time). “It would be a huge shame [if Ferrari left], but Ferrari cannot be put in a corner on its knees and say nothing.”

Ecclestone and Todt first tried to impose a cap on how much manufacturers such as Ferrari could charge for engines – around £9 million (NZ$20m) – only for it to be vetoed by the Italian team. They have since tried and failed to regulate for a different, independent engine which moves away from the sport’s green revolution.

Marchionne said: “We go to the track to prove to ourselves and to everyone our ability to manage the power unit. If we begin to undermine this advantage, Ferrari has no intention of racing.

“I understand very well the difficulties that smaller teams face, but this is something that FOM [Formula One Management] has to solve; it is not something Ferrari has to solve.”

The 63-year-old also strongly criticised Red Bull for demanding an engine first from Mercedes, and then from Ferrari. “What I find offensive is that somebody considered it normal and rightful to have a good engine. Nobody has the right to get such an engine.”

The row comes as it emerged that overtaking fell dramatically in 2015, with 20 per cent fewer manoeuvres.

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Figures released by Pirelli, the official tyre supplier, showed that in 19 races there were 509 overtaking moves – just over 26 per race – compared to 636 the year before. They also underlined the total dominance of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes duo, who were passed just three times each on track throughout the entire year.

Unsurprisingly, 18-year-old rookie sensation Max Verstappen who won the accolade of most overtaking passes throughout the season, with 49. In his renaissance year with Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel executed the most overtaking moves in one race, passing 13 cars in Canada.

– The Telegraph, London