Motor racing-FIA and F1 signal better relations with joint strategic plan

Liberty Media

15/05/2024 20:47

By Alan Baldwin
       IMOLA, Italy, May 15 (Reuters) - Liberty Media-owned
Formula One and the FIA governing body moved to reset their
fractious relationship on Wednesday with the announcement of a
joint strategic plan to grow the sport worldwide.
    Both parties issued a statement ahead of the Emilia Romagna
Grand Prix, the first round of the European season, declaring
the championship, now a record 24 races, had never been
stronger.
    The FIA website accompanied it with a file picture of the
body's president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive
Stefano Domenicali in a friendly exchange on the grand prix
grid.
    "The FIA and Formula One are committed to delivering the
best outcomes for the whole sport," it said.
    "To that end, both parties are developing a new strategic
plan that will allow us to seize the opportunities and further
enhance the potential for F1 in the years ahead."
    No details of the plan were given, but insiders said things
were moving in the right direction with a mutual focus on the
big issues.
    Formula One Management holds the 100-year commercial rights
to the championship, starting from 2001, while the FIA is the
sanctioning body responsible for rules and safety as well as
technical staff.
    They have been at odds recently over a potential 11th team,
with Emirati Ben Sulayem supportive of a U.S.-based
Andretti-Cadillac entry and Formula One ruling it out until at
least 2028.
    The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee this month launched an investigation into that
rejection.
    Ben Sulayem was appointed at the end of 2021, succeeding
Frenchman Jean Todt, and has been caught in controversy as well
as what some have depicted as a turf war with the commercial
rights holder.
    In January last year, Formula One accused Ben Sulayem of
interfering with its commercial rights by publicly questioning a
reported $20 billion valuation of the sport.
    The FIA also faces legal action brought by Susie Wolff, the
director of the all-female F1 Academy support series and wife of
Mercedes team boss Toto, after a conflict of interest enquiry
last year.
    Ben Sulayem was accused by a whistleblower of seeking to
prevent circuit approval ahead of last year's showcase Las Vegas
Grand Prix and allegedly interfering in the outcome of the Saudi
Arabian race in Jeddah.
    The FIA's ethics committee cleared him unanimously after an
independent investigation that took 30 days.
    In the background there is also legal action by Brazilian
former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa against Formula One, former
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA over the outcome of the
2008 world championship.

 (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
 ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))