Force India/Sauber EU complaint 'has gone to next level'

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Force India and Sauber's complaint to the European Union [EU] "has gone to the next level", according to Bob Fernley.

The two teams lodged a complaint with the EU last year over what it believes to be a breach of competition regulations due to the unequal distribution of funds in F1. With a year having passed since the issue was raised, Force India deputy team principal Fernley says the EU has taken an interest and wants more information.

"Yes, we have put the complaint, that’s common knowledge, I think about a year ago, it has gone through due process and I can confirm it has gone to the next level in terms of a request for further information from the EU," Fernley said. "Who those have been sent to, I don’t know.

"From our point of view, because we’re in legal process with them, we can’t say anything about what we’re doing – but I can confirm it is at that stage from an EU point of view."

Fernley was also asked if the teams are seeking legal advice from in the United States, and would not rule out doing so in order to bring about change in the distribution of funds.

"With regard to your question on the US legal matters, I think, you know, it’s not appropriate for us to discuss something where we’re getting legal advice. It’s probably a bit speculative – but for sure everything is still on the table from our side.

"We are very, very committed to challenging what we believe is a very anti-competitive system with these bi-lateral agreements. Whatever it takes to deliver that, we will certainly look at."

The three other team representatives in the FIA press conference alongside Fernley - McLaren's Eric Boullier, Toro Rosso's Franz Tost and Manor's Dave Ryan - all denied having been contacted by the EU for more information.

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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.