Red Bull boss says progress must be made in Wednesday's meeting
Tuesday 30 June 2015 15:37, UK
Christian Horner has warned the F1 Strategy Group will lose credibility if they cannot make progress when discussing the future of the sport on Wednesday.
The group is made up of the FIA, commercial rights holder FOM and six F1 teams. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams have protected seats, with the sixth place given to the highest finisher in the previous season’s Constructors’ Championship, which is currently Force India.
However, the group have struggled to reach agreement in recent meetings and ahead of the Monaco GP last month Force India’s Bob Fernley declared the Strategy Group unfit for purpose.
The Strategy Group will meet again on Wednesday ahead of this weekend's British GP and Horner says it is vital for its reputation that it delivers.
"We need to have progress tomorrow, it is an important meeting for the credibility of the group," the Red Bull team principal said.
"The purpose of the group is to discuss and decide on the strategic direction of the sport, it is not there to write regulations or make regulations, it is there to decide on what direction the sport should be heading in. We need to get back to the basics of what the group is for and get on the same page.”
Horner recently called upon Ross Brawn to write F1's rules and again called for an independent adjudicator to assist the FIA and commercial rights holder.
"I think that is where an independent consultant would work,” he said.
"Somebody who knows the business, understands the peculiarities and the vagaries of the technical and sporting regulations, that then comes up with a set a regulations that fit the purpose of what the commercial rights holder and the FIA wants.
"A team will always look to promote one area or another – we’d like it to be a very aerodynamic formula going forward and I am sure others would like it to be more engine focused. If you can find somebody who understands the business, understands what the commercial rights holder and the regulator wants that is probably the best chance of coming up with a sensible set of sporting regulations."
Asked if that proposal was one he would put to the Strategy Group he replied: “I think it is something we need to discuss tomorrow.”
With the Strategy Group looking to map out F1’s future, Horner wants to see more mechanical grip in 2017, but with both Michelin and Pirelli tendering for the tyre contract doesn’t believe a tyre-war would be in F1's best interests.
“I think it should be one [tyre] maker, I don’t think we should open it to competition because I think that then leaves two predominant teams and the others just get what the others don’t want,” he said.
“I think we should go back to wider tyres, back to more aggressive looking cars, more mechanical grip and I think that is where we are at the moment.”
Don’t miss Sky Sports F1’s live coverage of the 2015 British GP. The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway from 11.30am.
