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Todt wants FIA to have 'complete control' of F1

FIA president Jean Todt says the governing body "should have complete control as the regulator and the legislator of Formula 1".

The governance of F1 has come under increased scrutiny in recent months as the teams, FIA and Bernie Ecclestone fail to agree on changes to the qualifying format and 2017 regulations. The situation has even seen the drivers voice their concerns over what they described in an open letter as an "obsolete and ill -structured" decision-making process.

When asked if he would change the governance structure immediately if it gave the FIA full power, Todt - who said he will not be a dictator - replied: "That would be logical.

"The FIA should have complete control as the regulator and the legislator of Formula 1. But historically it has not been like that. It is what I have inherited. It is like that."

However, Todt warns it is likely F1 will remain in its current state at a governance level - which can often lead to an impasse - until 2020 when agreements will be up for renewal.

"The governance is not good, but the governance has been there for decades. We must wait until the renewal of the Concorde Agreement by 2020 and decide to change the governance.

"We are in 2016, and it cannot be until 2020. We cannot get out of this governance. Unless the teams, the commercial rights holder and the FIA decide to change, then we can do it tomorrow."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.