F1 Rumor: FIA Is Wrapped Up In Legal Turmoil With Surprising Hopeful Team Following Unfair Rejection

Saajan Jogia | Sep 5, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) lead the field into turn one during the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

British Formula 1 journalist Joe Saward has revealed that the FIA could be paying a huge sum of money to F2 team Hitech Grand Prix for rejecting an F1 entry on commercial grounds to pass Andretti Cadillac's bid. Hitech GP's director, Oliver Oakes, who took over the role of team principal at Alpine, is said to have been in a silent battle with the governing body, currently in arbitration.

The FIA invited bids for a new Formula 1 team, with Hitech Grand Prix and Andretti Cadillac among the applicants. Following thorough evaluations, Andretti's bid was approved last year for further consideration by Formula One Management (FOM), while Hitech Grand Prix's bid was rejected due to concerns over its commercial viability.

According to Saward, Oakes's team believed their project was stronger than Andretti's and felt that Hitech's rejection by the FIA was unjust, as the FIA lacked the authority to reject team applications based on financial grounds. Arguing that the governing body should not interfere in commercial decisions related to F1, the team quietly initiated legal action against the FIA.

Sensing further trouble for FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his advisors, in addition to the controversy surrounding Andretti's pending entry into F1, the FIA decided to settle the case with Hitech through financial considerations in an attempt to diffuse the situation before it got ignited.
Saward hinted that the arbitration case involving Hitech has been kept under tight secrecy.

Hitech is said to have already won the first stage of the process, which covers its legal costs to date. The second stage, set for September 16th, will assess the financial damages owed to Hitech. Oakes is expected to receive a substantial sum from the FIA.

Making the big revelation on his blog JoeblogsF1, Saward explained:

"Alpine’s new team principal Oliver Oakes will probably have a bumpy ride in the months ahead, but it will be useful experience. Whatever happens he will live happily ever after because the word is that his Hitech Grand Prix organisation is going to get a decent chunk of money from the FIA in the next few months. Hitech wanted to graduate into F1 and put in a bid at the same time as Andretti. Hitech was rejected by the FIA.

"Oakes and his backers felt that this was unfair as they believed they had a better project than Andretti. This led to quiet legal action, ostensibly because the FIA rejected the bid on the grounds of finance. Hitech, it is said, argued that as the FIA must not be involved in any commercial decisions relating to F1, it cannot do what it did. In order to stop another omelette falling from the sky on to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his advisors, it was agreed that the matter would be settled using a confidential arbitration process so that Oakes could argue for money and no-one would know much about it.

"No-one wants to talk about this dispute but it is out there and I heard that the first phase has now been completed. The word is that Hitech has won a larger share of the legal costs involved, which suggests that the arbitrators thought his case was better than that of the FIA. There is now expected to be a second phase to assess the damages. This is expected to take place on September 16.

"Oakes won’t say a word and the FIA won’t even admit that the case exists. I guess that we will all have to look at the FIA accounts to see what it cost, although these have sometimes included large sums that were not explained. Given the ongoing mess with Andretti, one can say that the FIA President’s idea of opening up the entry process may not have been a good idea as it has caused nothing but pain."