Toto Wolff believes Formula 1 is set for the “biggest transition” in its history after all 10 teams signed up to the new Concorde Agreement last week.
F1 announced last Wednesday that the entire grid had met the early-sign deadline for the new Concorde Agreement, committing to the revised commercial terms that will last from 2021 to 2025.
Mercedes had been in a stand-off with F1 over the new Concorde Agreement, feeling its contribution to the sport and recent success had not been reflected through negotiations.
But Mercedes team principal Wolff said at the Spanish Grand Prix that the team had moved into a position where it was ready to put pen to paper on the new terms, meaning it could meet the early-sign deadline.
Wolff said ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix that it was no surprise to see all 10 teams sign up, but he nevertheless felt pleased to see talks get across the line.
Wolff also predicted that the new agreement would bring some of the most sizeable changes in F1’s history.
“We have always said that we wanted to stay in F1, so the agreement wasn’t necessarily all that surprising,” Wolff said. “But we’re happy that we could bring the negotiations to a positive conclusion.
“We are committed to our sport and we’re looking forward to the upcoming years which will see the biggest transition F1 has ever seen.
“This will reward agile, open-minded teams who can adapt successfully to the demands of the new rules.”
Under the new Concorde Agreement, teams will receive a more equitable share of prize money from F1 in a bid to make the sport more sustainable and competitive.
Wolff previously said at the British Grand Prix that Mercedes would be “the biggest victim” in terms of prize fund loss as the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull would retain their advantageous positions.
But in the week following the Silverstone race, Wolff held “very constructive discussions” with F1 CEO Chase Carey, paving the way for Mercedes to sign up to the new Concorde Agreement.
The more equal distribution of prize money is part of F1’s drive to make the sport more sustainable and competitive, working in tandem with the 2021 budget cap and the updated technical regulations that will come into force in 2022.
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