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Formula 1: Mercedes warn F1 to take Ferrari’s threat seriously

By Asher Fair

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 22: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H on track during the United States Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 22: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H on track during the United States Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Mercedes have warned Formula 1 to take seriously Ferrari’s threat about leaving the sport entirely due to the blueprint for future engine regulations.

In November of 2017, Ferrari threatened to quit Formula 1 following the 2020 season due to the blueprint for future engine regulations set forth by Liberty Media, which is the American mass media company that purchased Formula 1 in January of last year.

At this time, Ferrari was certainly not the only engine manufacturer that expressed doubts over Liberty Media’s blueprints in regard to the future of the sport, particularly in regard to the much-disputed potential new engine regulations.

However, at that time, Ferrari was, in fact, the only manufacturer to actually threaten to leave the sport if the regulations ended up being put into place in the 2021 season despite the fact that there was mounting disapproval of these plans from multiple other manufacturers. Ferrari is the manufacturer for Scuderia Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo Sauber.

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In fact, Mercedes and Renault, the two other engine manufacturers that power more than one team in Formula 1, also expressed doubts about these regulations around the time at which Ferrari made their threat to completely leave the sport if those regulations do end up being enacted. Mercedes is the manufacturer for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Sahara Force India and Williams Martini Racing, and Renault is the manufacturer for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Renault Sport and McLaren. Honda, which only powers Scuderia Toro Rosso, did not comment about these regulations.

In fact, several weeks after Ferrari made their threat in regard to completely leaving Formula 1, Mercedes also threatened to quit Formula 1 following the 2020 season if these new regulations, which include budget caps, do end up being enacted for the 2021 season and beyond.

Now, Mercedes have warned Formula 1 that Ferrari could be serious about leaving the sport after the 2020 season, and they have warned Formula 1 that they should, in turn, take these threats very seriously, as it could very well come back to bite them.

Here is what Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“My message is don’t mess with Sergio Marchionne. F1 needs Ferrari much more than Ferrari needs F1. He’s a business man, the bottom line matters and if he believes that F1 doesn’t give Ferrari any benefit any more he will walk. He needs to be taken seriously and, if I were others, I wouldn’t try to pose against him. That could be a bad outcome for F1 and all involved.”"

Next: Top 10 most unbreakable records across Formula One, NASCAR and IndyCar

Will Ferrari end up leaving Formula One completely after the 2020 season if these new regulations end up being put into place by Liberty Media? It certainly is not impossible by the looks of things right now.

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