F1 Heading for Political Row over Concorde Agreement

Despite the anticipated settlement between the European Union and the FIA, Formula One could be heading for another political row following claims from some teams that the governing body made changes to the Concorde Agreement - Formula One's Sporting Code - without the consent of all eleven teams.

Following the European Commission's anti-trust investigations into the governance of Formula One over the past few years, the settlement between the FIA and the EU included changes to the Concorde Agreement regarding the deal between the FIA and the Formula One Administration (FOA); the contracts between the FOA and TV stations; and agreements with Grand Prix organisers and promoters.

Those changes to the Concorde Agreement required the approval of all eleven Formula One teams. However, according to this week's Autosport magazine, the Williams and McLaren teams have sent a letter to the European Union claiming that the changes were not valid as the FIA made them without the necessary consent of all the teams.

According to the British weekly, the letter was an attempt from the teams to put pressure on the FIA in order to get a bigger share of the revenues, thus satisfying the requirements of the manufacturers involved in the sport.

The Association of European carmakers (ACEA), not happy with the current situation, announced earlier this year its members had agreed to set up a new company which would run a rival series to Formula One, which could start before 2008.

The association includes some of the biggest names who currently compete in Formula One - Jaguar owners Ford, DaimlerChrysler, which has Mercedes-McLaren, BMW with Williams, Renault with Benetton and Ferrari's Fiat.