The Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team remains ‘100% aligned’ with Scuderia Ferrari when it comes to the future direction of Formula 1, according to Dieter Zetsche.
Whilst insisting that the aim is to beat Ferrari on track, the chairman of Daimler insists both they and Mercedes want to see the technical regulations within Formula 1 remain meaningful, particularly as Liberty Media are looking into what engine formulae to have from the 2021 season onwards.
Ferrari has threatened to walk away from the sport should the regulations not be to their liking, and although Zetsche has stopped short at suggesting Mercedes could follow suit, he says it is important the regulations remain meaningful to the teams.
“We are the good cop and the bad cop,” said Zetsche to Autocar. “We beat each other like crazy on the track and try to get every tenth of a second of advantage but at the same time we are 100% aligned on our thoughts in Formula 1 and our strategic actions in Formula 1. We are good friends.
“We are there to stay in Formula 1 but of course the platform itself has to stay meaningful and develop positively.”
Zetsche wants any future change to bring the competition closer together, and he said the 2017 regulations was a good start as it saw the first inter-team battle between Mercedes and Ferrari since the hybrid era began in 2014.
“I have said many times the best outcome would be winning the championship by one point in the last race,” said Zetsche. “Being on the track last half of last season I was not that sure of my statement!
“To be clear, we want to be successful and we want the platform to be successful and when one is dominant that doesn’t help. We need stronger competitors and rule changes which give new cars to everybody and to some extent, this last season was that change.”
