Much more interesting is the fact that in the 2000 deal between the FIA and the Formula One group to lease the commercial rights to F1 until 2110 there is a clause which allows the federation to take back the rights in the case of a change of control. The details of this clause are not public but Mosley has often told journalists of its existence. The control of the Formula One company has been with Bernie Ecclestone in the six years since that deal was struck. He has retained a shareholding in the company and been the chief executive.
But the sale of the business to CVC Capital Partners, a deal which is currently being considered by the European Union, would seem to constitute a clear change of control as the majority of the shares (86% of the company and 100% of the voting shares) have been acquired by a company called Alpha Prema UK Ltd. Bernie Ecclestone is still involved in this new business but in legal terms there will be a new owner and the FIA will thus have the right to say yes or no to the new ownership. This is thus an opportunity for Max Mosley to redefine the terms of the agreement in the best interests of the sport. The commercial rights to F1 until 2110 were leased for the sum of $360m. Given that the Formula One group made a profit of $126.5m in 2002 (its last publicly-available accounts) this means that profits from that deal will be enormous in the course of the next 104 years, particularly as the repayment of a bond issue will soon be completed, and so the annual profit will increase. It can be argued that the FIA leased the business far too cheaply and that this allows too much money to leave the sport.
With the change of control clause, however, this can be renegotiated and it must be in the best interests of the sport for Mosley to work a deal which would see some of the money being put back into the sport. CVC Capital Partners is still going to make vast sums of money from the deal because to date large areas of the commercial rights have not been developed to the extent that they might have been. Formula 1 is a money-making machine and careful nurturing will mean that this will continue for many years to come. The manufacturers are part of that success and it is not wise to make life more difficult for them. What would be right would be for the FIA to win back a chunk of the money to help the development of the sport so that each national sporting authority could invest in the sport in its individual country.
Mosley's goal has always been to use his talents to re-establish the family name by doing something positive. He has achieved much at the FIA as his appointment to France's Legion d'Honneur last week attests but he could achieve so much more if he were to use his position and power to restructure the funding of global motorsport. Mosley is now approaching his 66th birthday. He will retire in 2009 because he is not allowed by statute to stand for another term of office (although, of course, powerful rulers have been known to change laws in such matters) and his opportunities to change the world are limited. In terms of his personal quest for family redemption, rethinking the 100 year deal should be more tempting than messing around with the motor manufacturers.
