A Force India spokesman said: “Sahara Force India is one of two teams to have registered a complaint with the European Union questioning the governance of Formula One and showing that the system of dividing revenues and determining how Formula One’s rules are set is both unfair and unlawful. Due to the ongoing legal discussions, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
A spokesman for the Commission added: “We have received a complaint and will assess it.”
Ferrari get the lion’s share of the prize money
The teams’ biggest complaint is the historic prize money payments given to the five biggest teams, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams. Ferrari were paid £102 million last year – incidentally, £29.3 million more than the world champions, Mercedes – while Force India received just £40 million.
The five biggest teams received more than two-thirds of the prize fund in 2014, worth more than half a billion pounds.
An investigation will further thwart CVC’s plans to eventually flock the sport on the stock exchange, while it could disturb Ferrari’s planned flotation in New York next year. Mercedes, with their strict rules on compliance, will also be anxious to see the Commission’s next move.