The first meeting of Formula 100, the organisation for F1's sponsors, took place in London earlier this month and although the details of what was said have remained between the four walls of the venue where it took place, some facts have emerged about what it hopes to achieve.

Initial reports after the event suggested that F1's sponsors themselves had formed the alliance but this was actually wide of the mark. F1's sponsors are members of F100 but they do not own it or run it as the teams own and run FOTA.

In fact, Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt came up with the idea of F100 back in May 2009 and his aim for it was to give sponsors added value from being in F1.

In March this year, Sylt proposed the idea to Robin Fenwick, owner of the Right Formula sports marketing agency, and Simon Berger, who owns the annual Motor Sport Business Forum. They both jumped at it and the three parties agreed that each will own a third of F100 itself.

The speaker and delegate list was built up by Sylt's Formula Money F1 business analysis firm along with Berger whose Motor Sport Business Forum attracts the sport's top movers and shakers. Through his sponsor connections, Fenwick arranged F100's venue and got an additional sponsor to back the first event.

Unlike FOTA which lobbies and makes demands, Sylt, Fenwick and Berger simply provide the platform for F1's sponsors to meet and help each other over any hurdles they may overcome in F1. Crucially, it also gives sponsors an opportunity to network with each other outside the paddock where all eyes are on them.

F1 attracts sponsorship from around 250 of the world's biggest brands but if the representatives of two companies or teams are seen talking in the paddock it can lead to unfounded rumours of new partnerships or even of sponsorships being severed. Not only do they get to freely speak at F100 but the idea is that both they and F1 will gain from that.

Many of F1's sponsors have businesses which can benefit from off-track partnerships with each other.

The theory is that getting the top sponsors together will put these kind of partnerships in motion and will give them an indirect benefit from being in F1. In turn this should keep the sponsors in the sport even if it is not going in the direction they desire. As with everything in F1, the ultimate beneficiary from it is Bernie Ecclestone since his Formula One Group makes an estimated £65m from sponsorship annually so any venture which keeps brands in the sport is in his interest.

The sponsors left the first F100 event well-equipped. A total of £9,000 worth of copies of Formula Money were distributed with one given to each sponsor. In addition, the sponsors each got a complimentary pass to a Motor Sport Business Forum. However, as anyone who has followed F1 for some time will know, there is a big difference between a good discussion and one which leads to real change. Only time will tell what real impact F100 is able to have.