Since the beginning of the season, Marussia was the only team without a commercial agreement with FOM, which resulted in a significant loss of revenue. Graeme Lowdon explained to us in the Monza paddock that this immediately penalized his team, as they mechanically had fewer funds for the development of their car: \u00ab You know, we believe that our position on the commercial aspect is fair and equitable. We do not need additional support. We are making progress in these discussions and will continue to do so until we reach an agreement. That being said, it’s always better to have more friends than fewer friends in the paddock. For our commercial agreement, I think we are on the right track. \u00bb<\/p>\n
He announced today to Autosport<\/i>, as confirmed by the team to yours truly, that an agreement had been reached: \u00ab I can confirm that we have reached an agreement with the holder of commercial rights and we have signed a bilateral contract. We cannot comment on the contents, but what we can say is that we are very happy to have reached an agreement. We can move forward, as other teams do. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Marussia should benefit from the same clause as the other teams, namely a payment even if they finish outside the top 10 in the Constructors’ Championship. This year, they are in a position to join this valuable club, but they learned last year that this spot was never secured until the very end of the championship, as they lost it five laps from the end of the last Grand Prix of the season.<\/p>\n
This agreement should cover the period 2020, which is that of the new Concorde Agreements signed by the FIA with the FOM. Bernie Ecclestone will now be able to tackle phase 2 of the negotiations: allowing all the bilateral agreements signed with the teams to be integrated into a global commercial agreement corresponding to what was signed with the Federation while maximizing the protection of his financial shareholders’ interests.<\/p>\n
For Marussia, all the foundations are now in place to move forward: a solid commercial agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, no more debts, a more powerful engine with the arrival of Ferrari, and at least one fast and experienced driver since Jules Bianchi has been confirmed in his role. The goal is therefore clearly to look beyond just the tenth place in the championship.<\/p>\n