Marchionne tips 2021 engine rules ’quarrels’

Sergio Marchionne says he will not sacrifice "Ferrari DNA" in the next round of talks about the 2021 engine rules.

Red Bull’s re-signing of Max Verstappen has many paddock insiders wondering what the energy drink-owned team knows about the next set of engine rules.

With costs out of control and Mercedes and Ferrari dominating, some believe many parts of the new 2021 engines will be standardised, and that some of these measures could be brought in early in 2020.

Ferrari president Marchionne said in Austin: "There will be a series of meetings from now until the end of the year on engine development in 2020-2021.

"The thing I make comment on, and I believe that my position will be shared by Mercedes, is that technical knowledge cannot be undone by the need to reduce costs," he said.

"I am the first to say we need to reduce costs," Marchionne added, "but we cannot do this by removing Ferrari DNA.

"It is a very delicate discourse in which there will be quarrels until the right equilibrium is found."