The BBC is under investigation following the deal which saw the British broadcaster relinquish the rights to F1 to Sky.

The shock deal, announced just ahead of the summer break, will see Sky broadcast every single practice session, qualifying session and race, for which fans will need a subscription, while the BBC retains live coverage of only half the season's qualifying sessions and races.

The BBC, which receives £3.5bn a year from British TV viewers courtesy of an enforced tax, claimed it was unable to meet the cost of its contract with Formula One Management citing the government's decision to freeze the cost of the TV licence.

At a time the state broadcaster was leading the attack on Rupert Murdoch's empire with regards the phone hacking scandal, it inexplicably decided to enter into an agreement with its dreaded enemy.

Now, BBC Director General Mark Thompson is to face the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport select committee as MPs try to discover how the deal came about.

The Daily Mirror, reports that in a letter to the BBC, Don Foster, the Lib Dem spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport, demands answers regarding the deal.

At the heart of the investigation, is the fact that there are conflicting stories as to how it came about, the BBC claiming that Bernie Ecclestone was behind the deal while the F1 supremo points the finger firmly at the British broadcaster.

"I do not believe plans to share coverage between the BBC and Sky promote the best interests of licence fee payers and motor racing fans," writes Foster. "I believe the best result would have been for the rights to remain with a free-to-air broadcaster, even if this was not the BBC.

"My main concern is that your account of who made the key decisions behind the agreement does not agree with the version of events given by Formula 1 Management," he adds.

It is widely known that Channel 4 was keen to secure F1 and had the available funding in place, while ITV and Richard Desmond's Channel 5 were also said to be interested. However, it is clamed that rather do a deal with a rival terrestrial broadcaster, the BBC opted to give F1 to its dreaded enemy, Murdoch. To rub salt in fans' wounds, hours after the deal was confirmed, Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, announced she was "absolutely delighted" that F1 would remain on the BBC, leaving them to take comfort that the money saved would be spent on quality programmes such as 'The Wall', 'Total Wipeout' and 'Snog, Marry, Avoid' etc.

While some within the paddock insist the Sky deal is good for the sport, many believe it is a dangerous move. As far as the fans are concerned, the general consensus of opinion is that it is a short sighted move that will seriously impact the sport.

Sadly however, these select committees rarely have any real bite.