Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP)

Behind the unit displayed to organize Grands Prix despite the coronavirus epidemic, Formula 1 is not losing its good habits and its players are engaged in a real battle of ragpickers.

"It's conn ....", or even "ass-licking", the niceties fly, whether for stories of copied brake scoops or distribution of the juicy income from this sport. Despite the closed session observed for the Grands Prix, their disagreements are also very public.

Accused of having copied the brake scoops of Mercedes, essential accessories for the proper functioning of an F1, the Racing Point team defended itself by affirming that it had done so from photographs. "They're conn ...", retorted Zak Brown, boss of rival McLaren team.

"I'm surprised at how Zak doesn't know anything about F1," said Otmar Szafnauer, Racing Point's team principal.

In the meantime, the judgment of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in favor of Renault, at the origin of the complaint against Racing Point, is highly contested by several teams, starting with the complainant himself, who judge that these scoops should have been banned for the remainder of the season.

Another subject of contention, the "Concorde agreements" which govern the distribution of income between the teams and currently in full renegotiation.

While many teams say they are ready to sign them, Toto Wolff, the boss of Mercedes F1, believes that what is currently on the table puts his team at a disadvantage.

"Some of the others lick the ass of the commercial rights holder when they speak on TV but when we are around the table they are the most excited and the most vindictive," he accused in an interview with Sky Sport.

Previously traded under the rule of Bernie Ecclestone, the "pope" of F1 from the 1980s until its takeover by Liberty Media in 2016, they have enabled most F1 teams to grow richer thanks to television income and advertising.

- Concord or discord? -

They also reserve a special diet for Ferrari, the only team present since the debut of the Formula 1 championship in 1950. Its manager Mattia Binotto indicated on the sidelines of the Grand Prix of the 70th anniversary of F1 at Silverstone that he was ready for them. sign by the August 12 deadline.

But Toto Wolff does not hear it that way. "We are the biggest victim in terms of loss of income and everything else. Ferrari has maintained its advantageous position," he accused at a press conference at Silverstone.

"I think Mercedes has brought a lot to this sport in recent years. We are very competitive on the track, we have the most popular driver (Lewis Hamilton editor's note) and we feel that while being part of these negotiations, we are not not treated as we should be ”, adding:“ we are not ready ”to sign them.

Mercedes has won every driver's and manufacturer's world championship since the introduction of hybrid engines to F1 in 2014 and still leads the way this year, leading some to argue that this dominance is killing F1 interest. But it also gives the German manufacturer very important weight in the renegotiation of the Concorde agreements which will ultimately give it satisfaction.

- Knee story -

Another subject divides the pilots: that of the demonstrations before each Grand Prix against racism and the fact of kneeling or not, as is practiced in other sports disciplines.

Launched on the initiative of Lewis Hamilton, the only black driver in F1, it garners the support of the 20 drivers on the grid but some refuse to kneel.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) rebelled at being called a racist on social networks to be one of those who remain standing and Kevin Magnussen (Haas) explained his decision not to kneel down for the sake of not not take a political position.

Far from launching a message of unity, this event now becomes an opportunity for the media to engage before each departure in the game of "will kneel, will not kneel?".

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© 2020 AFP