Formula One Management chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that talks with the European Competitions Commission (ECC) have taken place over the sport’s governance and prize money structure.
Formula 1 teams Force India and Sauber wrote to the ECC last September to lodge an official complaint. In their joint letter, they stated that the way in which prize money is distributed is “unfair and unlawful” and also criticised the way rules are voted on by a selection of the larger teams.
Whilst no official investigation has yet taken place, Ecclestone confirmed that competitions commissioner Margrethe Vestager is getting “more and more interested” in the structure of F1.
“They’re starting to get more and more interested in the anti-competitive way that we’ve got,” he is quoted as saying by Autosport.
“Conversations have taken place and they will do what is the right thing to do.”
When asked if the ECC could cancel the various contracts Ecclestone holds with individual teams should an investigation take place and side with Force India and Sauber, he replied: “Yeah, if the EU got really excited about it they could look at it and say, ‘You’ve got to tear that up’.”