Mercedes’ Norbert Haug terms FOTA vital for Formula 1 and teams – Formula 1 news
Mercedes head of motorsport Norbert Haug has stood up for the importance of Formula One Teams Association (FOTA).
The statement came in the wake of Red Bull, Ferrari and now Sauber announcing their resignations from the association. Although Ferrari and Red Bull have given reports explaining the reasons behind their decision to resign, Sauber have maintained privacy over their reasons and have not made it public.
Haug believes that the FOTA’s aims are relevant and they are working towards making the sport better and it would be best for the big teams to support it.
The issue mainly lies with the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA). Luca di Montezemolo president of Ferrari has expressed his discontent over the issue for some time now, and has taken up the issue with Formula 1 management, going as far as threatening a back out from Formula 1 and starting up a rival series.
Although Ferrari explained the statement on their website and said that, the context is not to threaten but to point out the mistakes to ensure the growth of the sport.
Similar reasons were given by Red Bull and although Sauber have refrained from making their apprehensions public, it is evident the reasons are definitely along the same lines. There is still no news over Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso but it is being speculated that they will follow suit.
If Toro Rosso also makes its way out, it will be the fourth team out of the 11 currently to resign from the Association, which includes the big names of Ferrari and Red Bull. FOTA will soon have to come to some sort of compromise.
At the backdrop of all this, Mercedes another big team of the sport has come out to support the Association and Haug has said that it is vital for the sport to keep it intact.
“I think it is absolutely vital that FOTA is existing,” Haug said. "The aims that we are having, the targets, are very important and I think it is up to the so-called top teams to really balance it out.”
“It's obviously quite a difficult time at the moment and clearly we, Mercedes AMG, are very supportive of cost control in F1,” Mercedes CEO Nick Fry said. “It's a difficult thing to achieve when everyone is so competitive but we certainly will work with others to try and fulfil the aim of an RRA.”
A FOTA spokesperson though mentioned that there would be talks later in the week over the issues and problems faced by the teams and a resolution will be worked upon.
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