’No progress’ on budget cap - Camilleri

Liberty Media’s proposed budget cap is no closer to being ready to implement.

That is the claim of Louis Camilleri, who earlier this year took over after the death of Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne.

F1 owner Liberty wants to improve the sport by limiting the huge budgets of the top teams.

"I think there has been progress made on the technical regulations for 2021," Camilleri told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But if we talk about the economics and the introduction of budget restrictions, there is no progress at all.

"In my opinion, there is a sense in such a restriction, but as always, everything depends on the details.

"I think that in the end there will be an understanding, but so far there is not one," he added.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel denied that Marchionne’s death in July was the main reason why Ferrari did not manage to beat Mercedes to the title.

"To say it like that would be wrong," the German told Marca sports newspaper.

"Of course it had an effect, but the team also stayed together so it would be unfair to make a direct connection to the results.

"He was obviously a key part of the team, and if you lose the leader overnight, it’s always difficult. But we’re also a big team with a lot of departments that work completely independently," Vettel added.

Auto Bild reports that the earlier power struggle between team boss Maurizio Arrivabene and technical boss Mattia Binotto has been calmed.

But the publication said Fiat chairman John Elkann is recommending that a Niki Lauda or Helmut Marko-style figure be appointed in a key role to mediate between the two chiefs.

Red Bull’s Marko told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: "If there is pressure, we know that it is often handled differently in Italy than it would be further north."