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EU commissioner rejects calls for probe into F1 sale

The European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has rejected calls by MEPs to launch an investigation into the sale of Formula One to Liberty Media Group.

Earlier this month the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted by 467 votes to 156 look into alleged "anti-competitive practices" in Formula One.

UK MEP Anneliese Dodds had led the push for a full enquiry into the way that Liberty acquired the sport. Among the issues raised by Dodds was the $80 million that the FIA received as a result of the sale which was suggested could have been a conflict of interest for the sport's government body.

"My concerns in relation to Formula One’s regulator, the FIA, are purely focused on the conflicts of interest that can arise when the regulator of a particular industry also has a financial stake in that same industry," Dobbs had explained.

The allegation was vehemently denied by the FIA who called such suggestions "inaccurately informed or malicious."

According to CityAM on Monday, Dodds has now been notified that the European Commissioner has decided against launching a formal probe into the sport.

European Parliament calls for F1 anti-competitive probe

Vestager is reported to have concluded that the transaction "did not satisfy the turnover thresholds that must be met to fall within the Commission's jurisdiction".

However, the matter might not be entirely over as Vestager has indicated that it's a matter for individual nation states rather that something to be looked into an European Union level.

"The transaction was notified instead to National Competition Authorities in several Member States, namely Austria, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, all which approved it last year," Vestager explained.

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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.