Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has dismissed any notion a divide between the FIA and Formula 1 owners Liberty Media could damage the sport's value. F1 and its governing body have experienced a number of run-ins since Mohammed Ben Sulayem took over as FIA President at the end of 2021, most notably when he made comments on social media referring to an alleged $20 billion bid by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund. That led to an incendiary letter being sent from F1 to Ben Sulayem, slating him for the "unacceptable manner" in which he commented on its value and hinted legal action was on the table. But a new divide threatened to become apparent as the two parties took opposing stances over the next Concorde Agreement. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, first in an investor's call pre-Miami Grand Prix and then on the Walker Webcast, suggested there was an urge to take advantage of F1's bustling positivity and rise in popularity and "strike while the iron is hot", therefore signing the next Concorde Agreement early. But with the current Agreement in place until the end of 2025, Ben Sulayem - speaking to AP - ahead of the British Grand Prix insisted there was no rush to ensure the deal was closed.
Negotiation positon
Asked whether there was a danger such division between the FIA and F1 could put the incredible recent growth at risk, Wolff told RacingNews365.com : "What's being said in public can create a perception that it is diverging. "But actually it is not, because the FIA and FOM want the Concorde, as do the teams. "There is probably a little bit of negotiation position that is in there, but the sense that I get is that everybody is pushing in the same direction."
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