Formula 1’s new Concorde Agreement has been “put on the backburner” due to the coronavirus crisis, and may not be completed in time for the 2021 season.
The current Concorde Agreement – the contract between the FIA, Formula 1 and teams that governs certain matters – expires at the end of the calendar year.
Formula 1 has previously competed without a Concorde Agreement, most recently in the opening half of the 2013 campaign, before the current 2013-20 contract was wrapped up that July.
“We had been in the final stages of Concorde Agreement when the virus turned everything on its head,” said Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey.
“It has been on the backburner for the short-term as we prioritise issues relating to 2020 first.
“As we move forward with the 2020 calendar and finalise regulatory changes with teams we will once again return to this.”
Carey also hinted that Liberty Media may adopt a ‘take it or leave it’ mentality if required, though stressed it hopes to avoid such a scenario.
“I guess on the Concorde Agreement the reality is once you get to 2021 we can just unilaterally just say these are the rules of the road, this is the structure that exists, so we don’t have to extend anything,” he said.
“We can essentially implement and say that if you’re racing that’s the terms on which you’re racing.
“Obviously that’s not the way we’re looking to conclude it with the teams, but the Concorde Agreement when we put it forward will be the Concorde Agreement that goes into effect in 2021 and we are able to unilaterally do that.”
