DECEMBER 12, 2012

Parr casts doubt on Concorde deals

Former Williams chairman Adam parr, who resigned from the team in March, has questioned whether some of the deals offered to leading F1 teams infringe European Commission laws.

Former Williams chairman Adam parr, who resigned from the team in March, has questioned whether some of the deals offered to leading F1 teams infringe European Commission laws.

Parr, a lawyer, was a surprise loss to the F1 paddock early in the season, officially stating that he was leaving to pursue other interests. It was much speculated, however, that the Williams board had been informed that the commerical terms on offer to the team may not be the same with Parr at the helm, as without him.

Now, speaking to Bloomberg, Parr said: "There's a strong case that an unequal division of power and money to a subset of teams, is unlawful."

Ferrari has traditionally enjoyed more favourable terms having contested the world championship since its inception, but there was bad feeling when Red Bull was cut a more favourable deal than teams such as Williams and McLaren, who share 17 constructors titles between them, even if the last one was sometime ago.

It remains to be seen whether any team raises the issue with Brussels, with Parr adding that many of them are dependent upon the goodwill of F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.