Toto Wolff reveals a major F1 governance reform is on the table with the upcoming Concorde Agreement.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes F1 team principal, confirmed that a governance overhaul of F1 is being considered under the new Concorde Agreement.
The current agreement has entered the final two years of its cycle before the 10 teams, FOM, and FIA must put pen to paper to finalize the new agreement for 2026 and the following four years.
Surprisingly, there’s little conflict between teams regarding the major foundations, which should lead to much simpler negotiations than in the past.
However, concerns about the sport’s governance have arisen with very apparent divisions between FOM and FIA in recent months. Regulations, Andretti’s entry, funding—disagreements between Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Stefano Domenicali are plentiful.
When asked if a new agreement would be easy to find in this tense context, Wolff didn’t want to fan the flames, having himself been a victim of the FIA, along with his wife, late last year over quickly buried suspicions of conflicts of interest, which caused damage.
But the Austrian admits that future governance will be a critical point of the negotiations. Behind the scenes, there’s a “war” between F1 and FIA.
“There will be business negotiations taking place, but it won’t upheave everything.”
“We recognize what Liberty has done for the sport and Stefano is doing a very good job.”
“So, I think on the fundamental part, we are in a strong position. What we are looking at is the governance issue—what’s the best way to make decisions in the future for the benefit of the sport.”
“This is something we are discussing.”
Echoing Wolff’s comments, Fred Vasseur, sitting on the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council as Ferrari team director, adds, “We’re not in a hurry, we still have two years.”
“The current Concorde Agreement is a good base, and you can always fight for a better deal, and everyone will push in their own direction, that’s for sure.”
“It’s a good base and will be quite easy to renew and discuss.”
F1 Governance Overhaul Under New Concorde Pact. F1 Governance Overhaul Under New Concorde Pact
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