Mercedes F1 team 'badly treated' vis-a-vis Ferrari, unlikely to sign new deal: Toto Wolff

Mercedes is not ready to sign the proposed Concorde Agreement, team chief Toto Wolff said on Friday ahead of Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Wolff told reporters that Mercedes, who have won six Constructors' Championships in a row, have allegedly been mistreated in discussions about the new commercial deal. 

The Concorde Agreement has been discussed by F1 owners for quite some time now. With the current commercial deal ending this season, it is imperative that a new deal should be signed sooner than later. The proposed agreement sets out the terms under which teams will share revenues moving forward. The proposed deal runs through the 2026 season.

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Mercedes F1 team chief Toto Wolff blasts F1's Concorde Agreement

Despite several teams agreeing with the proposed deal, Toto Wolff says the deal needs "more cleaning up" before the F1 team can consider signing the deal. Wolff believes the Mercedes F1 will be the "biggest victim" of the deal in terms of revenue loss. Wolff even said that Mercedes, who have current world No.1 Lewis Hamilton in their ranks, has not been appreciated through negotiations.

"We are happy with a more equitable split of the prize fund, the way success is rewarded and possible for everybody, we agreed to," Wolff said during Friday's press conference. "We are I would say the biggest victim in terms of prize fund loss in all of that. Ferrari has maintained an advantageous position. For Red Bull, it balances out with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). So it's us that are hurt the most."

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A number of other F1 teams including the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams have stated that they are ready to sign the new Concorde Agreement. Wolff still believes most teams are not happy with the proposed deal but have chosen to not speak about it publicly. "I think most of the teams, if not 90%, are of the opinion that it needs cleaning up, that there are clauses that are critical that need to be discussed around governance and certain commercial aspects," he said, as quoted by Sky Sports F1. 

Formula 1 issued a statement, acknowledging Mercedes' reluctance in signing the deal. F1 insists that the team have engaged with all teams in a "collaborative" manner. They further add that despite Mercedes' unwillingness to sign the Concorde Agreement, the deal "will not be delayed any longer." F1 has set a deadline of August 12 for the final discussions before "moving forward" with the proposed deal. 

Mercedes racers will be the favourites to win Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. Six-time world champ Lewis Hamilton, as well as Valtteri Bottas, have comfortably topped the timesheets in both practice sessions. Renault's Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will the others to have an eye out for Sunday. 

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(Image Credits: Mercedes F1, Pete Windsor Twitter Handle)