F1 legal bosses have threatened to escalate tensions between F1 and the FIA after Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed the sport is not worth $20bn (£16.3bn).
Sacha Woodward Hill, F1’s general counsel and Renee Wilm, chief legal and administrative officer of Liberty Media Corporation, F1’s controlling shareholder, have accused motorsport’s governing body of false claims in a letter sent to the FIA.
Interfering with commercial rights
In the letter, revealed by the BBC and Sky, the legal chiefs say that Ben Sulayem “interfered with our [commercial] rights in an unacceptable manner” when he referred to an “alleged inflated price tag of $20bn” being placed on the sport. He also eluded to a potential buyer of F1 requiring “a clear, sustainable plan – not just a lot of money”.
Ben Sulayem took to Twitter on Monday to voice these opinions in response to a Bloomberg News report last week alleging that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had looked into a $20bn takeover bid for the sport in 2022.
Neither Saudi’s Public Investment Fund or F1 have commented on the report.
A copy of the incendiary letter to the FIA was also forwarded on to F1 teams including Ferrari and Mercedes today, and stated that: “Formula 1 has the exclusive right to exploit the commercial rights in the FIA Formula One World Championship” under a 100-year deal.
“Further, the FIA has given unequivocal undertakings that it will not do anything to prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of those rights.
“We consider that those comments, made from the FIA president’s official social media account, interfere with those rights in an unacceptable manner.”
The letter from Ms Woodward Hill and Ms Wilm also said the suggestion, implicit in the FIA president’s remarks, “that any potential purchaser of the Formula 1 business is required to consult with the FIA is wrong”.
Overstepping boundaries
It added that Ben Sulayem had “overstep[ped] the bounds of the FIA’s remit”, saying that “any individual or organisation commenting on the value of a listed entity or its subsidiaries, especially claiming or implying possession of inside knowledge while doing so, risks causing substantial damage to the shareholders and investors of that entity, not to mention potential exposure to serious regulatory consequences”.
“To the degree that these comments damage the value of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA may be liable as a result.”