Haas boss Gunther Steiner says rival teams are trying to "harm" the Ferrari-linked outfit by lobbying to stop the practice of so-called ’B teams’.
Ahead of crunch meetings with the FIA and Liberty Media and tough negotiations over the next Concorde Agreement, Renault and McLaren in particular are reportedly lobbying to prevent top teams like Ferrari from allying with smaller rivals.
Racing Point is also alarmed by how closely teams like Ferrari and Alfa Romeo are collaborating.
"Nobody can tell me that there is no data being exchanged there," an unnamed team member told Auto Motor und Sport.
"Sauber’s technical boss Simone Resta came directly from Ferrari to Switzerland and there wasn’t even the usual gardening leave. It means both teams know from the other what developments work and how, so they can divide the work between themselves."
But Steiner says the lobbying is simply to "harm" smaller teams like Haas.
"They want to take something away from us to harm us and better themselves," he said.
Haas buys as many components as the rules allow from Ferrari, allowing it to take on much bigger rivals like Renault on a fraction of the budget.
"We chose this model because the rules allow it," said Steiner.
"It has proven itself, especially for new teams who would otherwise have no chance to enter formula one. So why change it? Everyone can adopt our model. I don’t try to tell Renault what they should do," he added.