F1 | FIA denies conflict of interest in the sale of the Circus

With a press release published on its website, the FIA ​​denies any hypothesis of conflict of interest deriving from the sale of Formula One, ratified last January, to the American giant Liberty Media. This is an issue that has emerged in recent days - with the European Parliament deciding to investigate this matter thoroughly - as the Federation owned 1% of Delta Topco (from whose sale the FIA ​​earned around 80 million), the company that owns the commercial rights to the premier class of motorsport.

"The prize money awarded in the Formula One Championship is drawn up in accordance with existing bilateral agreements between each team and the commercial rights holder (CRH, ed.). The FIA ​​is not aware of these agreements. There is no conflict of interest on the part of the FIA ​​with respect to the approval of the change of control of the CRH, which has been approved by the World Motor Sport Council taking into consideration exclusively the terms of the existing agreements between the CRH and the FIA ​​and the interests of the Championship. As foreseen by the agreements signed in 2001 for the following 100 years, the FIA ​​could only withhold its consent in the event that the change of owners of the commercial rights would have changed their powers and obligations. È It is clear that taking control of the Formula One Group from Liberty does not create such a risk, and no one has ever suggested a different vision in this sense”, this is the note issued by the Federation.