F1: Vatanen Brings Legal Action Against FIA

Formula 1

F1: Vatanen Brings Legal Action Against FIA

Ari Vatanen commenced legal action against the FIA Friday ahead of his bid to be elected president of F1's governing body...

SPEED Staff / GMM | Posted October 16, 2009 GMM Newswire

Ari Vatanen (Right) is a candidate for the FIA presidency but has questioned the fairness of the governing body. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Ari Vatanen commenced legal action against the FIA Friday ahead of his bid to be elected president of F1's governing body.

In a press release, the Paris federation said the Finn, who is taking on Max Mosley's preferred successor Jean Todt in next Friday's ballot, has asked the local Tribunal de Grande Instance to "impose a number of measures" for the election.

Vatanen has been questioning the trustworthiness of the apparently democratic election process, but the FIA press release insists that its own procedures "already provide more safeguards than those he is asking the court to impose".

"The FIA is therefore at a loss to explain the purpose of this legal action, if not merely to generate further negative publicity and to attempt to raise doubts about the honesty of FIA staff.

This is despite the fact that a large team of FIA personnel has worked continuously over recent months to ensure that the new FIA President is elected in a dignified and democratic way,” the statement read.

The statement also challenged Vatanen.

“This legal action follows a number of allegations made by Mr. Vatanen to the media which attempt to call into question the integrity of the FIA's personnel and the FIA's election process,” the statement said. “However, Mr. Vatanen has not taken up an invitation to specify and substantiate his allegations.”

Watch The Brazilian Grand Prix LIVE Sunday at 11:30 am. Eastern on SPEED

F1 RaceCast Online Now! Follow Formula One live online timing & scoring, practice, qualifying, race coverage, commentary and more on SPEEDtv.com!