EU intervention would be good for FIA - Todt

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FIA president Jean Todt says any intervention from the European Union (EU) regarding the way F1 is run would be good for the governing body.

Last year Force India and Sauber both complained to the EU "questioning the governance of Formula One and showing that the system of dividing revenues and determining how Formula One's rules are set is both unfair and unlawful". Asked if any EU investigation could affect the governance structure in F1, Todt insists he has no concerns.

"I would not call that affect, but influence could be," Todt said. "But on that, I'm very comfortable, it can only be good for the governing body."

And Todt reiterated his belief the FIA does not have enough power in Formula One, even though he insists the governing body's level of influence has increased under his leadership.

"The governing body has not enough power, influence to have the final say on the rules. It’s the way it is. It’s simple. It has more than when I was elected. So on that…there has been so much bullshit saying I’ve been selling for €40m. it’s completely wrong. We get more money, but we get more influence on the decision-making for the rules.

"It’s something I complained about to my people, I say you should have on the FIA website explaining more what is happening. We should give more information on that. The FIA now has more influence on making the rules than it had before."

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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.