JANUARY 17, 2006

Why no action at the High Court is important to F1

McLaren appears to have settled out of court with legal firm Baker & McKenzie in its battle over an agreement between the team and Bernie Ecclestone.

McLaren appears to have settled out of court with legal firm Baker & McKenzie in its battle over an agreement between the team and Bernie Ecclestone. McLaren sued Baker & McKenzie claiming that the legal firm acted negligently in preparing the agreement, which was designed to ensure that the team received money if Ecclestone sold the Formula One group. We understand that when the company was sold, the agreement made was with the wrong company and so McLaren and Williams received nothing. Williams was in legal action with Linklaters, another legal firm, until December when it reached a settlement. The settlements are of interest in that the details of dealings, if made public, would have had the possibility off causing embarrassment to some of those concerned and there has been speculation that the Williams settlement formed part of a deal between the team and Ecclestone over the arguments over the future financial structure of the sport. It should be remembered that Williams agreed to sign the revised Concorde Agreement at the same time as it settled with Linklaters.

While we do not believe that McLaren will sign up to the Concorde Agreement immediately, we feel that the settlement with Baker & McKanzie is a positive step towards a compromise.