Relations between the FIA and Liberty Media continue to escalate, following some tweets published yesterday by the president Mohammed Ben Sulayem about the possibility of an acquisition of the rights of the category by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, is had to intervene by threatening the Federation to take legal action.
The accusations and reasons of the president, which had expressed its disagreement with the sum that the fund would offer to Liberty Media and the F1, were seen as an "unacceptable" stance, which only widens an already rather evident rift between the FIA and F1 concerned about the devastating effect that the Federation can have on the category, with its operations.
F1 and Liberty Media furious
FIA and F1 have found another disagreement, but compared to previous, resolved with a few jokes, this one risks seeing even the lawyers in the middle. What was most shocking was seeing how this scandal took shape. Starting from an article published by the well-known Bloomberg newspaper to assume a higher profile within not even 24 hours. In fact, it was not F1 and Liberty Media who reacted to the indiscretion but Ben Sulayem. In his tweets, the FIA president defined the offer of 20 billion as speculative emphasizing that prospective buyers should bring more than just cash. A beautiful and good position. As if to point out to future bidders that F1 is also a matter of commercial interest for the Federation.
But this is not the reality of the facts. There F1 and Liberty Media have the exclusive right to exploit the commercial rights to the championship. The tweets would have exceeded this limit, and Ben Sulayem would have acted beyond his jurisdiction endangering the reputation of Liberty Media.
The content of the letter
Ben Sulayem's unsolicited intervention was commented on in the letter sent to the FIA:"This goes beyond the limits of both the FIA's mandate and its contractual rights. The FIA is responsible for any damage to the value of Liberty."
The letter also points out that the F1”has the exclusive right to exploit the commercial rights to the FIA F1 World Championship. The FIA has unequivocally undertaken not to do anything that could prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of these rights. Posts from the FIA President's official social media account interfere with our rights in an unacceptable way. The circumstances in which the FIA could have a role in a change of control of the F1 group are very limited. Any suggestion or implication to the contrary, or that any prospective purchaser of F1 assets should consult with the FIA, is wrong."
“Any individual or organization that comments on the value of a publicly traded entity or its subsidiaries, in particular by claiming or implying that it possesses inside knowledge, risks causing substantial harm to shareholders and investors of such an entity, not to mention potential exposure to serious regulatory consequences. To the extent that these comments damage the value of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA may be liable.
The letter concludes with a further admonition, a lapidary "we hope and trust that it will not be necessary to address this matter again“. F1 and Liberty Media, as well as Ben Sulayem closed in a "no comment" but who knows if in the coming days they will come to a more direct confrontation.
Source statements: GP Blog, FormulaPassion
