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Formula 1 could face an European Parliament investigation

Calls for Formula 1 to be investigated for allegations of anti-competition practices have been backed by the European parliament.

The sports governance and uneven payment structure has come under scrutiny after Force India and Sauber lodged an official complaint to the European Union in 2015.

Both teams feel F1 is operating unfairly citing claims that prize money and bonus payments are distributed unfairly and heavy weighted in favour of the bigger and more successful outfits.

The most high profile is the 105 million ($170.4 million AUD) paid to Ferrari last season as a bonus for being a long standing F1 member and constructor.

Since the official complaints Anneliese Dodds, a UK member of the European Parliament, has pushed for the European Union competitions commission to investigate F1s governance and payment structure.

Last month the parliament issued a report which featured 184 items listed for a possible investigation by the European Commission.

A call for an an immediate investigation into competition concerns arising from the Formula 1 industry has been added to the document, which has since gained overwhelming approval from EU members.

It is understood the recent 467-156 vote in favour of an investigation will increase pressure for the EU to launch a probe.

Im happy that today the European Parliament backed my call for a full and immediate investigation into anti-competitive practices in Formula 1, said Labour MEP Anneliese Dodds.

A few weeks ago Manor Racing became the latest team in the south east of England to collapse after administrators failed to find a buyer.

Smaller teams are unfairly punished by an uncompetitive allocation of prize money that will always give the biggest teams more money, even if they finish last in every race.

The problems in Formula 1 extend well beyond the allocation of prize money, with serious concerns being raised about an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs that allowed the sport to pay an effective two percent tax rate.

Dodds has also noted that the European Union should also investigate the sale of F1 to new owners Liberty Media.

There is also significant conflict of interest over the recent sale of the sport to Liberty Media, after the regulator received a $79.5million (63.7m) profit from authorising the sale, she said.

I have written a number of letters to the European Commission calling for a full investigation and I am grateful that the rest of the European Parliament has added its voice to this call.

We must ensure that we dont lose even more highly skilled jobs in this sector and allow a sport loved by 500m fans to become increasingly less competitive.

If an investigation is lodged and F1 is found guilty of anti-competition practices the European Commission can issue a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual turnover, which equates to 1.35 billion ($2.2 billion AUD).

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European Union supports call for F1 investigation - Speedcafe