FIA wants final say on F1 rules from 2020

FIA president Jean Todt wants the governing body to have the final say on Formula One regulations when the Concorde Agreement is renewed in 2020.

F1’s governance was heavily criticised at the start of the current campaign when the sport’s complex decision-making process prevented teams from swiftly dismissing the ill-fated elimination qualifying format after it flopped on debut.

Critics pointed to Todt after it emerged the FIA president, along with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, initially blocked a return to the old quali system.

Although the Frenchman has yet to announce whether he seeks a third term at the helm of the FIA beyond 2017, he already knows what will be on top of the agenda for the organisation he currently fronts.

"It will be the renegotiation of the Concorde Agreement, with the strong issue of the governance," Todt is quoted as saying by ESPN.

“If you want to have the participation of teams, of manufacturers, they must support what you are doing. Very often, manufacturers are involved because they feel it is a strong marketing tool, a strong laboratory for them. So for me, it's essential you listen to them. It's a way of leadership.

"For me, I always like to hear what people think -- and not only manufacturers, but fans, journalists -- but at the end of the day, I think we should have much more autonomy to make the final decisions.”

Todt’s plan is to have the FIA get the final word on regulations but also envisions a close, upstream collaboration with the F1 commercial rights holder.

“We will have discussions, and I think it's very important you have bodies who are participating to influence, but at the end of the day it has to be the governing body who is making the decision, but with the very strong support of the promoter, because the promoter has the responsibility to sell the show. So it would be very unfair to say we are going to dictate that and then you sell the show.”

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