Formula 1 bosses have accused FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of “unacceptable” interference within the alleged sale of the game.
Following reports of a $20bn (£16.3bn) bid from Saudi Arabia to buy F1’s business rights, Ben Sulayem expressed concern on Twitter in regards to the potential repercussions of the “overpriced” takeover, similar to higher ticket prices for fans, should the brand new owners try to reclaim their investment.
He added that a possible F1 buyer should “include a transparent, balanced plan – not only loads of money”.
Sky Sports News revealed on Monday that his remarks had angered senior F1 officials and now the legal chiefs have written to the FIA warning that Ben Sulayem’s tweets “have breached our rights in an unacceptable way”
In a letter first reported by messages from heaven but additionally seen by Sky Sports News, F1 General Counsel Sacha Woodward Hill and Renee Wilm, Chief Financial Officer Liberty Media CompanyF1’s controlling shareholder has accused the FIA - motorsport’s governing body – of exceeding its powers.
The letter was also sent to all 10 F1 teams. Sky Sports News contacted the FIA for a response but received no comment.
Ben Sulayem’s comment got here in response to last week’s report Bloomberg news that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has explored a bid to acquire the game for $20 billion in 2022.
Neither F1 nor the Saudi Public Investment Fund commented on the report.
The letter warned the FIA that “Formula 1 has the exclusive right to exploit the business rights to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship” as a part of a 100-year deal.
“Moreover, the FIA has made a transparent commitment that it’s going to not do anything that might prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of those rights.
“We consider that these comments, coming from the FIA President’s official social media account, interfere with these rights in an unacceptable way.”
The response to Ben Sulayem’s comments comes at a time of heightened tensions between F1 and its governing body.
The letter from Woodward Hill and Wilm also stated that the suggestion within the FIA president’s remarks that “any prospective buyer of the Formula One business is required to seek the advice of the FIA is wrong.”
It added that Ben Sulayem had “overrun[ped] throughout the remit of the FIA”, saying that “any person or organization commenting on the worth of a listed entity or its subsidiaries, specifically claiming or implying insider knowledge, risks causing significant harm to the shareholders and investors of that entity, not to mention potential exposure to serious regulatory consequences.
“To the extent that these comments damage the values of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA will be held accountable.”
Contacted messages from heaven an F1 spokesman declined to comment.
F1 teams are questioning the position of the FIA president after recent disagreements
Evaluation by Craig Slater of Sky Sports News…
Ahead of the 2023 season, it’s a giant conflict at the highest of the game.
Formula 1 is owned by the American company Liberty Media and is a publicly traded company. If someone within the position of FIA president makes an remark of what a potentially appropriate value is, it could possibly be to the business detriment of the corporate.
That is just one in all the various problems that, during Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s tenure, irritated not only F1 but additionally some teams.
I actually have been involved with many F1 teams who had different opinions on what happened this week.
One senior person told me that there’s a discussion happening in lots of teams about how long Mohammed Ben Sulayem can proceed on this role.
There are questions on his tenure due to what’s becoming increasingly bitter (relationships) between the governing body and the business rights holder and by extension the teams.
It’s a leadership style as much as anything. All of this stems from the uneasiness some people in sport feel over the deal whereby the FIA (then led by Max Mosley) greater than a decade ago sold a 100-year business rights lease to the organization then headed by Bernie Ecclestone to use of business rights.
On the time, it was thought to have been leased far too low cost, and a few see Mohammed Ben Sulayem publicly signaling that he just isn’t comfortable with the arrangement.
This is kind of a deep one and it’s a historic problem that the governing body and business rights holder has to contend with.