Marchionne: F1 revolution delay "avoids huge problems"

Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Ferrari owners Fiat Chrysler, has backed the move to delay a technical revolution in Formula One until 2017.

It had appeared that Ferrari was leading the charge for rapid change, when on the very day that the F1 Commission met to vote on proposed changes for 2016, it published images of its radical-looking 'concept car'.

But Marchionne, the Ferrari president, told reporters at the Barcelona F1 test that he was actually not in favour of 1,000bhp engines and radically different cars making their bow next year.

"Do not confuse what can be done in 2015 for 2016 and what can be done for 2017," he said.

"The changes for 2016 would have created big problems in the management both for us and for Mercedes. We decided to address the matter of bigger tyres, wider cars and more powerful engines for 2017.

"The current regulations will remain valid also next year. To change the rules from scratch would have created huge problems.

"We should not mess around: these are bullets on the track and they are not invented overnight.

"It is easy to make changes on paper, but you have to make them work on the track."

Alfa Romeo hint for the future

Marchionne also explained the reasoning behind adding the iconic Alfa Romeo badge to the livery of this year's Ferrari.

"I was at the Ferrari museum," he said, "and you can see the story with a great closeness to Alfa Romeo."

Asked if the association between F1 and Alfa Romeo might be developed in the future, Marchionne added: "Maybe. Who knows. Anything is possible."