EC ends battle with F1

Ecclestone and Mosley have reorganised F1 to satisfy the EC

The European Commission has signalled an end to its lengthy investigation into how motor racing is run.

The Commission had objected to the close links between the FIA, motor sport's governing body, and Formula One Administration, the company which markets the rights to F1 races.

It had claimed that these and other issues to do with the organisation of motorsport contravened European Union competition guidelines.

The EC believed that the FIA had the power to prevent competition by threatening to withdraw the licences of track owners, teams and drivers.

FIA will no longer have a commercial interest in the success of F1

  European Commission statement

But EC competition commissioner Mario Monti said on Friday that changes to the marketing and broadcasting arrangements surrounding motor sport "seem to us to amount in principle to a satisfactory solution".

An EC statement added: "In the light of this progress towards the resolution of a long-running and difficult case, and as all complaints have now been settled, the Commission is in a position to give its preliminary approval to the modified rules and arrangements."

The EC's decision has been expected for some months, and it amounts to a huge coup for FIA president Max Mosley, who has been working to resolve the dispute for more then four years.

The negotiations between the FIA and the EC have been characterised by an often ill-tempered series of broadsides between the two bodies.

But the temperature cooled when Belgian Karel van Miert was replaced as competitions commissioner by Italian Monti early in 2000.

Mosley made the breakthrough by offering to separate the FIA from direct financial benefits from the sale of F1's commercial rights.

Little practical difference

The FIA has now leased these to Bernie Ecclestone's FOA company for 100 years after the current contract expires in 2011.

The Commission said that Ecclestone, who is an FIA vice-president as well as chief executive of FOA, will no longer handle FIA promotional matters. He will also reduce his role in FIA affairs in other ways.

The changes have made little practical difference to the way F1 is run - Mosley remains in charge of administration and legislation, and Ecclestone the commercial side.

But the two men have done enough to satisfy the EC.

Monti's arrival at the EC made it easier to reach a compromise

"FIA will no longer have a commercial interest in the success of F1 and the new rules will remove any obstacle to other motorsports series competing with F1," an EC statement said.

Before giving final approval, the EC will give third parties the opportunity to make representations.

The FIA welcomed the EC's announcement.

Mosley said: "Over the past six months the FIA has changed its rules and commercial arrangements and will now take further measures to carry out its role as regulator of international motor sport without any commercial involvement.

"This will eliminate all possibility of future conflicts of interest."

The EC put forward formal objections to the FIA's hold over the sport in June 1999. Changes introduced over the past year include FOA selling its interest in all forms of motor sport including rallying.

The FIA has amended its regulations to strengthen the rights of circuit owners and the 11 Grand Prix teams and "to make it clear that FIA will act impartially".

And the FOA has agreed to limit the duration of its free-to-air broadcasting contracts to five years for host broadcasters and three years in other cases.