Although the F1 Commission – at which everyone is represented – will
ultimately sign off on the Strategy Group’s proposals, smaller teams will
not be able to block anything, or put anything forward, at the initial
stage.
Fernley, Force India’s deputy team principal, described the new process as
unethical and undemocratic. “All teams basically pay the same amount to go
racing,” he told Telegraph Sport on Friday. “The only
differentials are in drivers’ salaries and hospitality. And yet some teams
have no say in how the sport is run. It could certainly be deemed abuse of a
dominant position.”
Fernley predicted that “two or three” of the six teams on the Strategy Group
might reserve their legal position ahead of Monday’s meeting and said that
the FIA, which now operates under the umbrella of the International Olympic
Committee, ought to be concerned.
“Some of the teams have grave reservations about the legality of it,” Fernley
said. “There is genuine concern among some of the teams on the Strategy
Group, particularly the ones who are public companies. This is not ethical
governance.”
The Strategy Group came about after protracted negotiations between Bernie
Ecclestone, who runs Formula One on behalf of owners CVC Capital Partners,
the teams and the FIA. However, contrary to the situation in previous years
when there was a tri-partite pact known as the Concorde Agreement, there are
now only bi-lateral agreements between FOM and the teams, and FOM and the
FIA.
“To have an arbitrary system of governance based on two bilateral agreements
is not good enough,” Fernley said. “We would hope that the FIA will look at
this.”
The three teams believed to be concerned about their legal situation within
the Strategy Group are McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.