Force India is waiting for Formula One's '17 rules to be finalized before taking the next step in its "complaint to the European Union about how the sport is run and revenues distributed," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Force India Deputy Team Principal Bob Fernley said, "We're not looking at moving that forward until the end of the month, until we've seen all the changes that come in and we know exactly where things are." Force India, controlled by Indian magnate Vijay Mallya, and Swiss rivals Sauber "filed a joint complaint last September asking the EU competition authorities to investigate the sport's governance." At stake is the "amount of money top teams like Ferrari receive from the commercial rights holder as well as their influence on decision making, with the possibility that contracts will have to be redrawn." Fernley said, "We submitted our complaint. The complaint has then gone to CVC (commercial rights holders). CVC have responded back (to the EU), which we have a copy of, and then we have to reply again to that final part of it." The sport's core Strategy Group of governing body, six top teams and commercial rights holder "agreed in February to postpone to April 30 the deadline for finalization of the 2017 sporting and technical regulations." Force India and Sauber argue that the Strategy group amounts to a "questionable cartel." A briefing note issued after the formal complaint to the EU spoke of "unfair" side payments and "unlawful practices" (REUTERS, 4/6).
