Formula One teams have been told the European Union cannot investigate allegations of anti-competitive practices unless they lodge a formal complaint.
Annalise Dodds, the Labour MEP for the south-east of England, spoke after visiting Force India’s factory today.
“Ever since the collapse of Marussia and Caterham last year, I have had real concerns about the way things are going with Formula One,” said Dodds.
“This doesn’t just mean two fewer teams taking part in races throughout the season; it means hundreds of highly skilled people in my constituency losing their jobs and their livelihoods.”
“That’s why I’ve raised this issue a number of times in Brussels, to see if there is a competition case to answer here. The commissioner in charge has made it clear to me that she can’t do anything until the teams themselves submit a formal complaint, and so if that’s what the teams feel is right then that is what they should do.”
The European Commission previously reached a settlement with the FIA regarding its governance of F1 in 2001. However Dodds raised concerns about the governance of Formula One with European commissioner for competition Margarethe Vestager at the end of last year.
“The FIA now seems to be powerless to act to ensure that all F1 teams are treated fairly,” wrote Dodds at the time. “In fact, it appears that last year [2013] the FIA accepted a dilution of its regulatory authority in a new agreement with the promoters of F1 in which the Federation obtained a direct commercial interest in the championship. This seems to be inconsistent with the terms of the 2001 agreement”.
Vestager replied to Dodds in December noting the EU is “aware of the recent allegations regarding Formula One’s governance”.
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Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
10th July 2015, 13:26
So, a team contemplating lodging a complaint would have to be pretty confident of their position in F1 before daring to speak up and risk the consequential retribution from FIA/CVC if they are not successful. A team like Ferrari perhaps, but as they are getting the biggest slice of the pie, so they won’t say anything. Or perhaps a team that is on the point of exiting the championship, and can afford to be scrutinised for their own actions. Personnel might find themselves as personae non gratae with the rest of the grid.
Do we really think that another team could afford to lodge a complaint and expect to receive subsequent equitable treatment from Bernie and Jean?
Robert (@gicu)
10th July 2015, 13:46
I don’t really know where they stand on the fund distribution food chain, but Williams could be a candidate. Their heritage should be enough of a protection against the wrath of Bernie.
rsp123 (@rsp123)
10th July 2015, 23:56
Tell that to Adam Parr. As I understand it, either he went, or the team was finished.
rsp123 (@rsp123)
10th July 2015, 23:58
But the bigger point is, how much wrongdoing must there be – reported by a team or by a member of the public – before the authorities act? It looks for all the world as if the pantywaist EU (like Germany last year) do not want to take on the might of Bernie’s billions.
Charles King (@charleski)
10th July 2015, 13:58
There are certainly problems with the way F1 is run. But I can’t help feeling the EU should have better things to worry about than a few hundred highly skilled people having to find a different job.
beneboy (@beneboy)
10th July 2015, 15:04
I’m sure other people in the EU do have other things to worry about, but the European commissioner for competition is there to deal with issues such as this.
It’s a bit more than just a few hundred highly skilled people, add in all of the suppliers, contractors, TV/media companies etc that work with F1 & the teams, and the millions of EU citizens that are fans/customers of F1 and it’s a pretty big deal.
Charles King (@charleski)
10th July 2015, 22:35
That’s not the way it works.
If energy companies collude and overcharge their customers then the regulators and competition commission need to step in because millions of consumers are being overcharged for an essential utility. If I buy a Sky subscription or a race ticket to watch F1, am I being overcharged because teams at the back aren’t getting a fair cut? That’s a very, very long jump to make. Fans can vote with their wallet, and many have.
Likewise, the suppliers and contractors dealing with smaller teams need to recognise the risks involved in the business and decide on credit terms accordingly, just as in any deal.
As JSC mentioned below, the EU has fiddled before, and it just transformed one mess into a bigger one.
JSC
10th July 2015, 14:38
Do we really want the EU meddling in F1? After all it was on the orders of the European Commission that the FIA sold the commercial rights to Bernie Ecclestone, who in turn sold them on until they came into the hands of CVC which is where they remain for the time being.
With that in mind, why would anybody believe that the outcome of any action taken now would be any better than before? Getting a load of clueless politicians involved and coming up with some convoluted solution which is a nightmare to put into practice would only lead to an even bigger mess, which I daresay Bernie Ecclestone would delight in exploiting to his advantage and that of his hedge fund paymasters.
Aficionado
10th July 2015, 16:39
As much as I hate to admit it, I fear you might be right. The only silver lining from it that I can see is that even if Bernie ends up an even stronger ringmaster, ultimately he’s always kept the sport going, as it’s in his best interest to keep it healthy. On the other hand, the controlling teams go so far as to outwardly admit that they will always be as greedy as possible, and aren’t intelligent enough to not destroy the institution in which they operate. Sooo…. if there’s a shakeup, it might explode the Concorde Agreement and give things a chance to function again? How’s that for rose-colored glasses? LOL!
Vortex Motio (@vortexmotio)
10th July 2015, 20:57
Primary advantage is if the EU were to bust up Bernie’s unequal funds distribution contracts with each team.
Unequal distribution of F1 money is strangling half of the grid, and this would be one way to fix it.
Unicron (@unicron2002)
10th July 2015, 14:39
Good. This could be the first step to the dismantling of the unfair, unjust meritocracy that has ruled in F1 for far too long. Fan survey showed 90% of fans want F1 to be more competitive – well distributing the prize funds would be a good start. Capitalists VS communists. Vive la Revolution!
John Lancaster (@wombat666)
10th July 2015, 16:36
I think the EU has enough on its ‘to do list’ with Greece right now.
More to the point, the FIA needs a large dose of brave pills and decent group of Legal Minds (I know …..an oxymoron!) to bring the money men to heel.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
10th July 2015, 21:46
I don’t think this is the business of any Government, this is a matter for F1 and F1 alone to deal with. The role of the EU is to make sure sporting is safe and legal and conforms to the EU constitution and laws, and that if people happen to make money out of those sports then they pay their taxes correctly.
F1 is an official FIA racing series, and in that respect F1 needs to have a constitution and rules that conform to the FIA requirements, but the lack of funding, or rather the large financial burden required to race in the F1 series is entirely the problem for F1 and those that manage and compete in it.
If the rumours of teams struggling to get the finances necessary to race in this series are true, then that does mean there is some sort of problem, but it isn’t the problem of either the FIA or the EU, it is a problem for F1 mangement and the competitors in the racing series to deal with.
When Caterham failed all their suppliers simply passed the costs on to their other customers (or failed), and some of them would be other F1 teams, which just meant there was less money for research and development in motor racing. If Lotus fail, then the same will happen, their suppliers will be forced to pass the costs of that on to their other customers or they too will fail, and again there will be less money to spend in motor racing, maybe forcing some racing teams (including those in other motor racing series) to close shop or move to a cheaper racing series.
The simple fact is F1 is the premier open wheel racing series, and if F1 fails then some other racing series will become the premier open wheel racing series, and it will a management that makes money, and it will have some competitors that do well in it and others who don’t, and there will be complaints about lack of funding by some teams, and no complaints by others.
The lack of fairness in TV air time given to each team is obvious, but again, that is an issue for F1 and the broadcasters to deal with.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
10th July 2015, 22:59
The small teams deserve more money…