Is F1 being run as a cartel? EU Commission to investigate?

[rdjohn]

Crafty_ said:

No need for the condescending tone. If you bothered to read what I wrote above I said its all a mess and everyone takes a bit of the blame for arriving that this point. That includes small teams who have signed a commercial contract that they cannot comply with.

You go right ahead and take Bernie out of the situation, it will solve absolutely nothing without other changes.

I am sorry that you took offence at my remarks. Your words that I highlighted seemed to reiterate what Bernie had said at Interlagos. It is he who is the principal architect of the current mess.

However I do wholly agree with you that other clever people have been happy to play along with his proposals, assuming that one day everything would be alright.

The EU / cartel issue is the last fight of desperate people. Some serious fines after a couple of years of investigation will achieve nothing; the cartel members will happily pay. The small teams and their staff will be long gone, probably with super GP2 cars making up the rest of the grid.

I do hope that Carl Hass is paying close attention, because he does not make fizzy drinks for pennies, that sell for £ pounds.

[ayseven]

In other sports, pro ice hockey in North America for example, the teams control the league, not the other way round. In F1, the marketing people run it, and the teams go along with it. The marketing people (Bernie/CVC) take way too much off the top for what they do, but the teams are so busy trying to win races that they only notice when they spend ALL their money. If he didn't give Ferrari and the like extra "incentives", they would - rightfully - take it all away and make their own sandbox. The problem is that the teams want to WIN, and don't want to go arranging races and marketing. A bit weird when you consider how much money is involved, and how successful some of these people are away from the track.

[Derek Smith]

Gaz. said:

Did all involved have a gun to their heads? It's called the Piranha club for a reason, and has been for as long as I can remember. Sauber plead poverty now but they pushed like mad for the KERS rules of 2009 when they were owned by BMW. Enstone have been more than happy with most agreements when they had tobacco money, Benetton and then Renault in their corner.

All the teams thoroughly deserve one another.

That's the teams who provide all the entertainment for us, is it?

The teams have been undermined and manipulated. The majority of teams have tried to form an organisation but one or two, those that see themselves as a cut above the rest, have been convinced by that most simple of arguments, having money thrust in their hands.

What can the other teams do?

The teams compete against each other. The system means that one place can benefit a team tremendously. It has been organised this way, presumably to ensure the teams compete off the circuit as well. What is remarkable is that so many teams were prepared to cooperate.

What we see now is the creation of Ecclestone. Absolute power and all that. The sport is geared towards money, and only money.

With the grandee team and the richest getting the most money, what's not to like?

The EU has already investigated the organisation of the sport and have been highly critical. For reasons that I beleive have not been published this was suddenly watered down and they are therefore the piranhas.

The question is not whether the teams deserve one-another, but whether the sport deserves a dictator.

[MitchT]

Agent Orange said:

It seems very odd then that billionaires want hand outs to help with promotion of their brands.

Doesn't seem odd to me. I'm yet to meet a wealthy person who spends a penny more of their own money than absolutely necessary.

[jammy_basturd]

I think it's more that the teams with power (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Red Bull, Mercedes) are given enough money by Bernie to want to keep the status quo.

It maybe short-sighted of them but they know if they backed a push for control to be spread amongst the teams rather than Bernie/CVC then the lesser teams would use that power to ensure the money was spread more evenly through the field, ultimately resulting in those 'power teams' getting less.

[London424]

ayseven said:

In other sports, pro ice hockey in North America for example, the teams control the league, not the other way round. In F1, the marketing people run it, and the teams go along with it. The marketing people (Bernie/CVC) take way too much off the top for what they do, but the teams are so busy trying to win races that they only notice when they spend ALL their money. If he didn't give Ferrari and the like extra "incentives", they would - rightfully - take it all away and make their own sandbox. The problem is that the teams want to WIN, and don't want to go arranging races and marketing. A bit weird when you consider how much money is involved, and how successful some of these people are away from the track.

The NHL where they had strikes in

1992, 1994, 2004 and 2012

I don't think that league can be held in too high esteem.

[MartG]

[Tuzi]

I'm late as usual... I did not have a chance to read all the posts and apologise if I'm duplicating previous information.

I originally posted this EU Antitrst/Cartel information and resources noticed below as a comment to Mr. Seaward's 11/17/14
"What is a cartel and why does it matter?" blog post. I've included several EU contact email addresses. Only takes a few minutes to voice your concerns (if U have any) and send a message.

Feel free to share these resources with friends, family, colleague's, social media contacts, etc...

Mr. Seaward's latested "An Aside With Joe" podcast is available at sidepodcast.com. It's a must listen on Cartel's and other sad F1 issues. Excellent!

https://sidepodcast.com/post/an-aside-with-joe-the...

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EU ANTITRUST/CARTEL

on November 18, 2014 at 5:24 pm | ReplyJoe Rhio
A “Joe” fan from the “Forgotten Coast” of Florida

For those interested in learning more…

INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

EU ANTITRUST, CARTELS
ARTICLE 101 OF THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (TFEU)

:: EU COMPETITION WEB SITE – http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html
ANTITRUST – http://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/overview...
CARTELS – http://ec.europa.eu/competition/cartels/overview/i...

:: COMPETITION POLICY AND THE CONSUMER

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consumers/contacts...

:: CONTACTS

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/contacts/index_en....

Questions about competition policy e-mail [e-mail]

If you wish to inform the EC. E-mail [e-mail] for further information.

Address, telephone, e-mail, etc. http://ec.europa.eu/competition/contacts/antitrust...

:: DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR COMPETITION OFFICE ORGANIZATION

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition/index_en.htm

Organization Chart/Staffing. See G, Cartels

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition/directory/orga...

———-
:: CARTEL LEGISLATION

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/cartels/legislatio...

:: PDF
EU Competition Law: Cartel Legislation and other reference tools on 1 January 2013

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/cartels/legislatio...

The EU Competition Rules on Cartels: A guide to the enforcement of the rules applicable to cartels in Europe

http://files.teneoevents.eu/media/emailings/pdf/th...