Carey warns: "But of course we don't want to play it that way with the teams"
- GPblog.com
There was almost agreement on a new Concorde Agreement in February, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, things have changed. Moreover, the priorities now lie with everyone in Formula 1 and the cards may be shuffled differently. For the time being we do not have to expect an agreement, because according to Liberty Media the negotiations have been put on the back burner.
At the end of the 2020 season, the current Concorde Agreement expires. This agreement includes the financial and commercial arrangements between teams, Formula One Group and the FIA.
"We were in the final stage when the corona crisis suddenly turned everything upside down," says Carey, quoted by Motorsport.com. Talking to Wall Street analysts, the CEO of Liberty Media has said they want to put things in order before saving this season. The top priority now is to put together a new Formula 1 calendar for this year and that has a lot of work to do.
Liberty and FOM do not need unanimity
Before the Concorde Agreement, teams like Ferrari had a veto right. If they disagreed with a financial deal, they could pull the plug completely out of the deal. Because the coronavirus has so many consequences for Formula 1 and its teams, they created a rule that allows FOM to choose to make its own decisions.
"The reality is that once you have reached a new agreement with the FIA you can impose it unilaterally. In the end we can say 'if you want to race then these are the conditions under which that happens'. Of course we don't want to play it that way with the teams. But the Concorde Agreement as we will then present it will be the Concorde Agreement that comes into force in 2021. We can decide that unilaterally", Carey concludes with a warning.