Motorsport: Motor racing-FIA and F1 signal better relations with joint strategic plan

IMOLA, Italy (Reuters) – Liberty Media-owned Formula One and the FIA governing body moved to reset their fractious relationship on Wednesday with the announcement of a joint strategic plan to grow the sport worldwide.

Both parties issued a statement ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the first round of the European season, declaring the championship, now a record 24 races, had never been stronger.

The FIA website accompanied it with a file picture of the body’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali in a friendly exchange on the grand prix grid.

“The FIA and Formula One are committed to delivering the best outcomes for the whole sport,” it said.

“To that end, both parties are developing a new strategic plan that will allow us to seize the opportunities and further enhance the potential for F1 in the years ahead.”

No details of the plan were given, but insiders said things were moving in the right direction with a mutual focus on the big issues.

Formula One Management holds the 100-year commercial rights to the championship, starting from 2001, while the FIA is the sanctioning body responsible for rules and safety as well as technical staff.

They have been at odds recently over a potential 11th team, with Emirati Ben Sulayem supportive of a U.S.-based Andretti-Cadillac entry and Formula One ruling it out until at least 2028.

The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee this month launched an investigation into that rejection.

Ben Sulayem was appointed at the end of 2021, succeeding Frenchman Jean Todt, and has been caught in controversy as well as what some have depicted as a turf war with the commercial rights holder.

In January last year, Formula One accused Ben Sulayem of interfering with its commercial rights by publicly questioning a reported $20 billion valuation of the sport.

The FIA also faces legal action brought by Susie Wolff, the director of the all-female F1 Academy support series and wife of Mercedes team boss Toto, after a conflict of interest enquiry last year.

Ben Sulayem was accused by a whistleblower of seeking to prevent circuit approval ahead of last year’s showcase Las Vegas Grand Prix and allegedly interfering in the outcome of the Saudi Arabian race in Jeddah.

The FIA’s ethics committee cleared him unanimously after an independent investigation that took 30 days.

In the background there is also legal action by Brazilian former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa against Formula One, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA over the outcome of the 2008 world championship.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)