What Bernie was seen writing on a chalkboard today There is no corruption in F1 There is no corruption in F1 There is no corruption in F1.
As always, Joe Saward is very well informed as well as astute in his analysis... https://joesaward.wordpress.com/
Some astute and fearless prosecutor just might start looking into things in Paris. The fear should be about an American Federal inquest. Any financial impact tied to the US via banking etc, can open the door as was in the FIFA probe. Todt would be smart to pay attention to this.
It seems to me that the areas of threat center on sponsorship and how venues are selected and to a lesser extent how rules are formulated. Those areas are subject ot votes of the various members of the governing bodies, and as such each member could easily be the target of influence, both financial and not. As FIFA is learning, it is one thing to be intellectually persuaded that soccer championships should be played in a country where the temperature reaches 130 degrees and the playing facilities do not yet exist, and quite another to sell your vote to the highest bidder. That oil rich countries, and emerging countries with no motor racing history should be awarded GPs to be run on circuits designed by ones cronies should raise suspicion. Baksheesh is a fact of life in many cultures...I get it. However, sport should not exist to enrich the few who have insinuated themselves into positions of power at the expense of the sport. That sort of activity is contrary to the guidelines set down for most international sports. I am all for rooting out impropriety, because the decisions that flow form those tainted decisions are seldom good decisions. I guess that the real test is whether F1 in particular, and motor racing in general, at the FIA level, is a sport or entertainment.
Baksheesh. I had forgotten that word but hearing it now brings back memories of trips to the Middle East and everyone with their hand out for their "Baksheesh". It is totally ingrained into the culture. Nothing wrong with it as long as you understand that's how everything works there. I wouldn't expect any decisions regarding a GP in the area would be any different.
The FIA has broken several of its rules when attributing GPs to some countries. The rules are that to host a GP, the track has to be part of a national championship, and have an international event of one of the global championships (WEC, GT, DTM, F3, GP2, Renault 3.5L, WTCC, etc...) in the previous year. That international race is supposed to be monitored by the FIA to assess the marshalling, the rescue services, the crowd control, etc... If those are satisfactory, then the FIA can grant the right to have a GP for the world championship. Those are FIA rules, which have not been observed since Bernie took control. Under these rules, many new GPs in the Middle East would bot have been held as they were. I have even my doubts about Austin.
I dont think you would see the same level of corruption with the FIA, that has existed for decades in FIFA, because the FIA has their sanctioning fees. Anyone can host a race, as long as they have a facility, and can pay the sanctioning fee.
I think we could one day uncover more. It's not only about the way fees are collected, but the bribes, what happens to the funds, who manage them, where, who has access to them. Do we really know if the FIA, as a international body, pays any taxes, or where. Who audit the books, etc... This is far from transparent it seems. Ecclestone got out of a trial and avoided jail in Germany by volunteering to pay $50 m to escape a corruption charge. The court said that he is not exonerated, but an in-depth investigation would take years.
Ha. FIFA first. F1 second. Olympics third. NFL forth. MLB, NBA, etc etc etc... It's always amazed me how private pro sports can fund their stadiums with public tax money.
Before the FIFA scandal broke there was serious talk of the EU taking a close look at the FIA's sale of F1 rights to Bernie & Co. The economic structure of the sport is unsustainable and everyone involved, save CVC, wants the finances restructured. So, yup, now that there's such a public precedent we'll see some action.
According to some, the FIA monopoly contravenes the Rome Treaty that allows fair competition in all commercial activities. As it stands, most forms of motor racing comes under the control of the FIA, most national institutions must abide by FIA rules, etc...
Im not sure why we need any of these entities to be so powerful at all. FIFA is not required to hold a match at all. The time is now for the world to rid itself of these 'regulatory monopolies'. I do hope the FIFA mess will inspire change within the FIA. I hope the EU start to dissect what it is supposed to do vs what it does, and that appears to be very little via Todt.
The problem is, if you allow multiple different organisations to run their version of a sport, you end up with each one running their version, to their own specific rules, and so you cannot have a World Championship any more because no one would be able to agree on which rules to use. Try this scenario for example: Let's say that the FIA are no longer the only body to run a version of F1, and you also have F1 motorsport (F1 MS) and Grand Prix F1 (GP F1) also running versions. Now the FIA's version of F1 sticks with 1.6litre turbo V6's, with DRS, 13" wheels/tyres, slick tyres, no refuelling and drivers must be 18 years old to qualify for a licence. The FIA races still run for the old 2 hour/200 mile period. F1 MS however decide that they want to run 2.4 turbo V8's, no DRS, 18" wheels/tyres, slick tyres, cars have limited fuel allowed but can refuel and drivers must be 16 or over to qualify for a licence. For their race weekends they have two races per event, both run on the Sunday, lasting 1 hour apiece or 100 miles, and the second race grid is decided by reversing the finishing order of the first race. GP F1 meanwhile have decided to run 3.0 normally aspirated V8's, they have DRS and full traction control allowed, have opted for 17" wheels/tyres, the tyres have a tread pattern on them, you can use any amount of fuel you like and drivers must be 20 years old or above to qualify for a licence. For their races, they hold two races per weekend, one on a Saturday and one on a Sunday, both of which last for one and a half hours or 150 miles. However, the race run on the Sunday has to be run in the reverse direction of Saturdays race (essentially running round the circuit the "wrong" way), and their second race grid is based on the fastest lap order from the Saturday race. So now there's no way any of the three series can run together and no one knows who the real F1 WDC is because they all run to different formulas! Added to all of that, you've fractured the F1 fan base into 3 different groups and so only a third as many fans go to see the races! Frankly, trying to run F1 without a single governing body and one set of rules to race to would be complete madness and it would kill the sport completely! Whilst the Rome treaty was created with the best intentions, were it to be applied completely to F1 then it would actually be incredibly damaging! This is pretty much what was argued at the time and in the end, the politicians could see the dangers of trying to force it on F1 and so allowed the FIA to continue having control over it.
I was talking about the commercial rights being in one hand, and never said anything about the rules or the sanctioning of the competition, etc... FOM holds a monopoly that didn't exist before when entrants and organisers were able to negotiate among themselves the financial side of things: entry fees, transport costs, prizes, etc... So, individual circuits and individual teams are in fact bullied by a go-between which has been given all the commercial clout. BTW, boxing exists with several sanctioning bodies. Do you think boxing is a failure as a business?
The soccer thing is going nowhere obama is way out there on this no one cares how much some people pay to have a show . In the states we should prosecute anyone that helps a pro team get a new facility with taxpayers money
In the same vein, F1 has ceased to be a sport long time ago. Now, it is just a contest between industrial design teams influenced by the budget they can gather.
It be really silly if someone believes there's no corruption in F1. However, i think it's definitely not as bad as FIFA's corruption. I'm surprised that Blatter was allowed to stay on
+1000 How do you know? There is corruption everywhere - nobody knows it - until they are caught. F1 just holds events hostage until they get the money they want, evidence is all the events they have lost, and look how Canada handled it. You can't have a race without the financial backing of a government, or someone dumb enough to shell out a lot of money on a losing (business) proposition. Look at Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, they had enough of a crowd, just not enough $$$$ to satisfy F1. Makes you wonder how they ever had events in the first place.
The question is how long before a deal is made with these extortion idiots to close the deal on Dictator Blatter