F1 under investigation for bribery

The new owners of F1 will have to deal with the fallout from Bernie's ways

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office is "reviewing material" after it emerged that Formula 1's commercial rightsholder paid the FIA $5.1M in a payment that "may have breached the Bribery Act," according to Jack de Menezes of the London INDEPENDENT.

Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee Chair Damian Collins asked the SFO to investigate the payment that was made to the sport's governing body.

The FIA said that the payment was remuneration "for its regulatory role" as the governing body, and confirmed that the payment was not made to any individual. The FIA denies any wrongdoing. Collins brought the matter to the SFO after admitting that he was "very concerned" about the payment, which ITV revealed is "part of the Concorde Agreement" that came into effect in '13 between F1's commercial rightsholders and the FIA.

The SFO confirmed that an investigation has been "triggered" and that it is "looking into the allegations." INDEPENDENT