FIA The FIA vs. Bernie and CVC

Brogan

Legend
Staff Member
In an interview in the Financial Times, Jean Todt has refused to respond to Bernie's recent criticism that he is a "poor man's Max Mosley".

Instead he is taking the high road claiming that "It is important not to overreact. I feel with confrontation, unless it is necessary to achieve a result, you lose time. I prefer to achieve results with harmony rather than confrontation."

What's most interesting though, is his revelation that the FIA has a veto on potential purchasers should CVC ever sell:
"I will make sure that everybody realises that since the agreement was signed, times have changed. Technology has changed. Evolution has a price. I must make sure that the funding for the FIA is correct. If CVC decides to sell, definitely we have a role to play. It is my job to make sure we secure the present and the future of the FIA F1 world championship."

Is this common knowlegde?
I wasn't aware the FIA had this sort of power over the sale of rights for F1.
 
I remember there being some muttering along the lines of, Mosley perhaps should have exercised his veto when CVC put their heavily indebted buyout plan forward. But you're right, I don't think there has been much discussion about this now.

Having said that, if and when the time comes, the teams will likely support the potential buyer who offers them the best share of income. Bernie may or may not prefer that himself, if he's still involved; but if the teams and FOM were united in support of one potential purchaser, in practice it would be difficult, I believe, for the FIA to veto that without a very strong case.
 
They used to have total control until they sold the rights to Bernie, did they not?

I absolutely abhor having to agree with Bernie on anything but when he says:

"The FIA should be like the police."
"We should write the rules with the teams. The competitors have got to race and have got a big investment. We have got a big investment."

He is actually right, of course, but for the wrong reasons. He is only interested in how much he can get out of it. If the FIA have to write the rules perhaps another totally separate body should enforce them...
 
To a large extent the teams do write the rules through the Working Groups, probably even more so now than in the past.

The FIA have got responsibility for the health of international motorsport, including F1, and the commercial arrangements are unavoidably tied to that. For the moment, it's all politicking and positioning anyway.
 
OK, but I disagree with any idea that the teams should be in any way involved in the writing of the rules. The teams should be allowed to comment and ask for change, but the teams writing the rules :no:

At the end of the day it is the "FIA Formula One World Championship" and they should of course have an input into who it is sold to. If that doesn't involve Ecclestone and his hair-brained ideas getting richer and richer then all the better.
 
OK, but I disagree with any idea that the teams should be in any way involved in the writing of the rules. The teams should be allowed to comment and ask for change, but the teams writing the rules :no:

At the end of the day it is the "FIA Formula One World Championship" and they should of course have an input into who it is sold to. If that doesn't involve Ecclestone and his hair-brained ideas getting richer and richer then all the better.
Well said tby.That is to often forgotten by many F1 fans.
 
I wasn't aware the FIA had this sort of power over the sale of rights for F1.

CVC only have a lease on the commercial rights, they don't own them (despite what BCE would like the world to think). If you rent a house do you not think that your landlord has some rights should you ever decide to sell that lease on?

"The FIA should be like the police."
"We should write the rules with the teams. The competitors have got to race and have got a big investment. We have got a big investment."

Cobblers, that's like stating that Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond should write the next edition of the Highway Code! Bernie is wrong. The FIA is the governing body that writes the rules, the stewards are their appointed enforcers. Bernie is the kid in the souped-up Nova complaining because he was pulled over for doing "only" 70 mph in a 30 zone...
 
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