22 May 2008
To all FIA Club Presidents
Dear President
The FIA President wrote a letter to you on 16May 2008 (the Letter) in connection with the FIA Extraordinary General Assembly called on 3 June to consider allegations published about his private life.
The Letter makes statements that could lead to misunderstandings and inaccurate conclusions being drawn. We, the Formula One commercial rights holder (the CRH), are writing to you to ensure that you understand our position on matters raised in the Letter insofar as they relate to Formula One.
We support the FIA and recognise that it is, and should remain, the sole body governing international motor sport which governs the sporting organisation of the FIA Formula One
World Championship (the Championship).
We recognise the obligation conferred upon the FIA by you, its membership, to safeguard its authority over all safety, sporting and technical matters relating to the Championship, as well as its traditional values.
We support and concur with the requirement of the European Commission that regulatory functions relating to international motor sport be separate from the associated commercial
interests and that the FIA’s role in Formula One should be that of the sporting regulator, uninvolved in its commercial exploitation.
We intend to continue to manage exclusively the commercial exploitation of Formula One within the established frameworks of the existing FIA Formula One Commercial Agreement and, in due course, the 100 Year Agreements.
You will recall that this set of agreements (the 100 Year Agreements) was entered into between the FIA and SLEC Holdings Limited in April 2001. Those agreements are valid and binding on the parties and will in all material respects become operative in 2011. They do not need to be altered or renegotiated unless both parties wish to do so.
The CRH does not wish to have control over the Formula One regulations. We believe that the Formula One regulations should be drawn up by the Formula One Technical and Sporting Working Groups, subject to the approval of the FIA Formula One Commission and the FIA World Motor Sport Council. To the extent any changes to the Formula One regulations may have a material commercial impact on the CRH and its interests, such changes should be discussed and agreed with us.
There is no financial crisis in Formula One. On the contrary, Formula One is in robust health, it enjoys the support of most of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers and is sponsored by many of the world’s other most prestigious brands. Revenues continue to grow, television ratings are high and demand from countries to promote a new Grand Prix continues to exceed the number of places on the calendar.
None of these issues have any bearing on the reasons the FIA Senate has called the forthcoming Extraordinary General Assembly, which we regard to be an internal FIA matter. You may be assured that whatever decision you should make on 3 June, we look forward to continuing our long-standing and constructive relationship with the FIA and its President in pursuit of a stable and successful Formula One.
Yours faithfully
Bernie Ecclestone
Chief Executive Officer
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