Ferrari "forced" to give PUs to Red Bull? When toys come before sport

Between Red Bull and Ferrari it would be necessary to understand which of the two is truly with its back against the wall; Red Bull which is effectively without an engine for 2016 or Ferrari which, “for the greater good of F1” and given the adamant “no” from Mercedes, it is in fact almost forced to give up its PUs to RBR.

Just after the Monza GP I wrote in my editorial on these pages that Marchionne had forcefully stepped in to provide engines to drinkers to avoid having to deal with a Red Bull powered by a Mercedes engine. A logical, intelligent choice, with Ferrari ready to establish itself as a true geopolitical power of the Circus, effectively embracing two enormous realities, its own Scuderia and those "cursed” former very strong upstart from Milton Keynes.

Mercedes' step backwards, however, shows the whole issue in a different light: Red Bull, in fact, without PU would leave F1, leaving the grid with eighteen cars. In fact, when we talk about Red Bull, Toro Rosso must also be counted. And the entry of Haas would only be a small panacea for a real economic and sporting disaster.

In fact, F1 would lose one of the most famous and successful teams of recent years, a team and a brand that have stolen the show with their results, now entering the collective imagination as synonymous with speed, on a par with much more famous teams. A team that many like, supported in Austria, England and Australia, with a Russian driver who speaks Italian fluently and another globalaussie with a smile on his face. Plus the so hated Red Bull (from Ferrari fans) that infinite mourning he alleged at the Rossa of Alonsian memory, he is always at the forefront in launching young talents. In short, we are talking about an important reality, there is no doubt about this.

A reality that is perhaps essential for F1, and this is why even the master father Bernie Ecclestone is pushing for a positive solution to the negotiations between Ferrari and Mateschitz's team. The crux of the matter is that if anything Ferrari, selfishly and sportingly speaking, should and could like to see Red Bull sink. One less competitor on the track and the bitter rival of recent years "finally" out. Out, bye bye.

It's cynical, but in sport it also works like this: mors tua, vita mea. On the other hand, it is Red Bull that ended the relationship with Renault early; Maranello could very well shrug and say hello and I am, as indeed Mercedes did.

But Formula 1, subjugated by business and by a fragile balance made up of pacts and counter-pacts, is a closed organism that often moves in a monolithic way, unlike football for example, where there is a war of interests with no holds barred. The Circus often acts through mutual assistance between its members, who are forced to work together so as not to break the toy, at the cost of losing out on victories and podiums. The money always arrives, for better or worse. If anything, the losers are the fans, who would hardly choose to strengthen a great rival.

Antonino Rendina

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