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Haug: Mercedes agree with Ferrari but won’t quit F1

Mercedes Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug has said that while his company agree with the stance against the budget cap taken by Ferrari et al, they themselves are not planning to withdraw from the sport.

Haug stressed that a solution to the argument must be found and that all the manufacturers shared the same vision of the sport – with only one set of rules. He pledged Mercedes to the cause of negotiation and discussion with the FIA to find a compromise.

“We will try to help to find a solution. All the teams are agreed that there cannot be two regulations in one series,” the German is quoted as saying by Sky.

But Haug had no doubts about the sincerity of the threat made by Ferrari on Tuesday to withdraw from the sport for next season if the FIA did not back down.

“I know that from conversation with (Ferrari president) Luca di Montezemolo and (team principal) Stefano Domenicali that Ferrari has thought about this threat very well. After 60 years in Formula One they would not do so without some serious thinking.”

When asked if his team would follow suit, however, Haug was evasive.

“[Withdrawal from F1] is not a topic at Mercedes,” he finished.

The consensus among the media is that if two or more major manufacturers withdraw for 2010, the remainder will eventually leave too, as there would be little commercial advantage to be gained. But the sport could profit from smaller privateer teams entering, enticed by lower costs.

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