26/01/2023
NEWS STORY
In yet another strange move, FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem has called for caution following claims of a $20bn bid for F1.
At a time there are already clear indications of a 'rift' between the owners of F1 and the sport's governing body, the FIA president has once again taken to social media to air his views.
"As the custodians of motorsport, the FIA, as a non-profit organisation, is cautious about alleged inflated price tags of $20bn being put on F1," he tweeted this afternoon.
"Any potential buyer is advised to apply common sense, consider the greater good of the sport and come with a clear, sustainable plan - not just a lot of money," he added.
"It is our duty to consider what the future impact will be for promoters in terms of increased hosting fees and other commercial costs, and any adverse impact that it could have on fans."
His comment follow a report from Bloomberg last week, which was subsequently picked up on by some sections of the media, that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund had made a $20bn bid for the sport which was subsequently rejected.
As Pitpass has previously reported, according to impeccable sources, while interest may well have been shown in terms of a potential bid, this did not come from those holding the purse strings of the fund, but from much lower down the order.
Nonetheless, it is odd that Ben Sulayem would speak out publically, a move which appears to question the value of the sport which was bought by Liberty Media for $4.4bn just six years ago.
All that aside, while one appreciates his fear in terms of how such a substantial bid might affect race promoters - and thereby fans - his call for common sense in terms of "inflation" comes at a time the sport is seeking to increase the 'anti-dilution' payment from $200m to $600m.
In 2001, after the EC expressed concern at the deals between Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA, (then) president Max Mosley suggested the sport's governing body sell Ecclestone's company a 100-year contract for the F1 in order to avoid further short-term deals. Incredibly, the EC agreed. Ecclestone's company was the only bidder and got the rights for just £300 million, a value which is now less than one year of F1's profit.