Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims the political relationship between Ferrari and Mercedes means Formula 1’s top two teams are effectively “working as one”.
The two manufacturers have made no secret of their aligned agendas with Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff admitting the German carmaker would consider joining Ferrari in quitting the sport if they disagreed with the direction taken by current owners Liberty Media.
“Mercedes and Ferrari are working as one team these days,” Horner said at the first test in Barcelona. “For the last couple of years there has been a very tight relationship between them, they even broadcast each other’s launches and things like that these days.”
In recent months the moves by Liberty, who want to take away the power of the manufacturers and create a level the playing field financially and competitively, have resulted in the split between the manufacturers and the independent teams such as McLaren and Red Bull.
“We are focused on going racing, things that we can control, there are new owners in F1 in Liberty and they have to decide what they want F1 to look like moving forwards,” the Briton continued, laying out their position.
“I’m sure they will lay out their roadmap and plan during the course of this season and we will go from there, but of course, there is going to be a lot of posturing and positioning and you can see that has already started in certain quarters.”
One area Mercedes and Red Bull do seem to agree, however, is on rejecting thoughts of a breakaway championship created by Ferrari, as suggested by ex-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone over the weekend.
Horner described his comments as nothing but bluster with talks to agree a new Concorde Agreement upcoming and Wolff described it as a “hand grenade”.
“We are committed to F1,” the Austrian ressuringly added. “This is our joint-platform and we all benefit if it is running well.
“We are critical on some of the things because we want F1 to do well but we invest a lot in this platform. It’s a major global sport that has grown over the years and we feel responsible.
“[We are] giving the management of F1 and the FIA the utmost support to solve the problems, to make it great and improve the show. This must be our clear number one priority.”