Ferrari "not joking" with F1 quit threats – Isola

Pirelli chief Mario Isola has warned Ferrari’s recent comments about leaving Formula 1 “are not joke claims” and feels it would be a damaging situation for all parties if the Italian team exited the sport.

Isola, who is eager to secure Pirelli’s future in F1 this year with the next tyre tender process set to begin for 2020 and beyond, has reacted to Ferrari’s recent threats to quit the sport if the new rules and regulations don’t suit its demands.

Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne revealed in November he was unhappy with the direction new F1 owners Liberty Media were aiming to take the sport after seeing the 2021 technical regulations blueprint and has threatened to pull out the iconic Italian manufacturer.

While Isola is confident these threats can be avoided he does believe they should be taken seriously and losing Ferrari in F1 would be a blow for all stakeholders in the sport.

“If they say something it is serious, they are not joking on these kinds of claims,” Isola told Crash.net about Ferrari’s quit threats. “At the end of the day I hope they can talk and find a solution that is satisfactory for both parties.

“There is no interest for Formula 1 to lose Ferrari and there is no interest for Ferrari to lose Formula 1. It is not a win-win situation if Ferrari pull out of F1. It makes no sense.”

Isola says he hasn’t considered Pirelli’s position in F1 if Ferrari were to leave and is focusing on keeping the Italian tyre manufacturer in the sport with its existing deal set to expire at the end of 2019.

The next F1 tyre tender process will start this year with tyre manufacturers encourage to pitch for the future contract which is expected to cover the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.

“This question we’ve never considered because Ferrari was talking about [leaving] in 2021 so first of all we have to renew our contract before we can consider that,” he said.