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FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem astatine the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain connected Mar. 20 2022.
Mark Thompson | Getty Images
Formula One bosses person accused FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of "unacceptable" interference successful the alleged merchantability of the sport.
After reports of a $20 cardinal (£16.3 billion) Saudi Arabian bid to bargain F1's commercialized rights, Ben Sulayem raised concerns connected Twitter astir the imaginable consequences of an "inflated" takeover specified arsenic higher summons prices for fans if the caller owners tried to recoup their investment.
He added that a imaginable purchaser of F1 should "come with a clear, sustainable program — not conscionable a batch of money."
Sky Sports News revealed connected Monday his remarks angered elder F1's officials and present ineligible bosses person written to the FIA informing that Ben Sulayem's tweets had "interfered with our rights successful an unacceptable manner"
In a missive archetypal reported by Sky News, but besides seen by Sky Sports News, F1 wide counsel, Sacha Woodward Hill, and Renee Wilm, main ineligible and administrative serviceman of Liberty Media Corporation, F1's controlling shareholder, person accused the FIA — motorsport's governing assemblage — of straying beyond its remit.
The missive has besides been circulated to each 10 F1 teams. Sky Sports News contacted the FIA for a effect but has received nary comment.
Ben Sulayem's comments came successful effect to a study past week by Bloomberg News that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness money had explored a $20 cardinal takeover bid for the athletics successful 2022.
Neither F1 nor Saudi's Public Investment Fund person commented connected the report.
The letter, warned the FIA that "Formula 1 has the exclusive close to exploit the commercialized rights successful the FIA Formula One World Championship" nether a 100-year deal.
"Further, the FIA has fixed unequivocal undertakings that it volition not bash thing to prejudice the ownership, absorption and/or exploitation of those rights.
"We see that those comments, made from the FIA president's authoritative societal media account, interfere with those rights successful an unacceptable manner."
The effect to Ben Sulayem's comments comes astatine a clip of heightened tensions betwixt F1 and its governing body.
The missive from Woodward Hill and Wilm besides said the suggestion, implicit successful the FIA president's remarks, "that immoderate imaginable purchaser of the Formula 1 concern is required to consult with the FIA is wrong."
It added that Ben Sulayem had "overstep[ped] the bounds of the FIA's remit," saying that "any idiosyncratic oregon organisation commenting connected the worth of a listed entity oregon its subsidiaries, particularly claiming oregon implying possession of wrong cognition portion doing so, risks causing important harm to the shareholders and investors of that entity, not to notation imaginable vulnerability to superior regulatory consequences."
"To the grade that these comments harm the worth of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA whitethorn beryllium liable arsenic a result."
Contacted by Sky News, an F1 spokesperson declined to comment.
F1 teams question FIA president's presumption aft latest disagreements
Analysis by Sky Sports News' Craig Slater...
Ahead of the 2023 season, this is simply a large struggle astatine the apical of the sport.
Formula 1 is owned by an American company, Liberty Media, and is simply a listed company. If idiosyncratic of the lasting of the FIA president makes an reflection into what the due worth perchance is, that could beryllium to the company's commercialized detriments.
This is conscionable 1 of a fig of issues which implicit the people of Mohammed Ben Sulayem's tenure has irked not conscionable F1, but immoderate of the teams arsenic well.
I person been successful interaction with a fig of F1 teams, and they've had assorted views connected what has gone connected this week.
One elder fig has said to maine determination is simply a treatment amongst a fig of teams astir conscionable however agelong Mohammed Ben Sulayem tin proceed successful this job.
There are questions being asked astir his tenure due to the fact that of what's becoming an progressively fractious (relationship) betwixt the governing assemblage and the commercialized rights holder, and by hold the teams.
It's a benignant of enactment arsenic overmuch arsenic thing else. It each dates backmost to an unease, which immoderate radical successful the athletics have, of the statement by which the FIA (then headed by Max Mosley) implicit a decennary agone sold the lease of the commercialized rights for 100 years to an organisation past tally by Bernie Ecclestone to exploit the commercialized rights.
It was felt astatine the clip that it was leased retired acold excessively cheaply, and immoderate radical spot Mohammed Ben Sulayem publically signalling that helium is uncomfortable with this arrangement.
This runs rather deep, and it is an historical contented that the governing assemblage and commercialized rights holder person to wrestle with.
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