Paddock abuzz with Concorde intrigue
Mar.24 (GMM) As ever in the high-intrigue world of Formula One politics, what is not said always has more value that what is freedly revealed.
That is doubly true if the shrewd Bernie Ecclestone is at the steering wheel.
Firstly, while some interpreted Saturday's news as a 2013 Concorde Agreement being done and dusted, the F1 chief executive's short statement in fact merely said "the terms" of the next contract have been agreed.
And the major keyword was that "the majority" of the teams - including Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull - are on board.
"Bernie's used the word majority," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by the Mirror. "If there are 12 teams, that's seven or more.
"I don't know any more."
The big missing domino is Mercedes, who according to multiple media sources are holding out for now.
Another is the famous British outfit Williams.
"All agreements between FOM and the teams are normally subject to confidentiality clauses," Red Bull's Christian Horner is quoted in German reports.
"So I can't comment."
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reported that, in addition to the aforementioned top teams, also set to sign up for 2013 are Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso and Ferrari-powered Sauber.
Lotus and Force India are reportedly also part of that group.
That leaves just the three slowest teams Caterham, Marussia and HRT as the other teams remaining in the cold.
Share Or Save This Story
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Pirelli chief calls for radical F1 overhaul
Bernie Ecclestone sends major F1 warning ahead of 2026: 'Danger is we lose the fans'
Bernie Ecclestone slams "over-confident" Lando Norris as he backs Max Verstappen for 2025 title
Bernie Ecclestone rejects Christian Horner Alpine purchase rumours with Lewis Hamilton title dig
Ferrari and Peugeot begin work on updated hypercars for 2027 WEC
Ferrari surprised by "spicy" Red Bull strategy that yielded Max Verstappen second in Hungary
Why Charles Leclerc’s battle of the brakes has left him trailing Lewis Hamilton
Why Sami Pajari believes Estonia win won’t make Rally Finland “any easier”
The IndyCar paddock reacts to unveiling of next-gen IR-28 chassis
Corey Heim is accomplishing feats NASCAR hasn't seen in decades
How Maverick Vinales' conflict shows KTM's biggest weakness
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen overdelivered in Hungary - and that's symbolic of their F1 2026 seasons
Where to next after the Bahraysian Grand Prix?
How Lando Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
When plucky private entrants could afford to go GP racing, and how F1 changed with the rise of commercialisation
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments