Formula 1 owners have accused the head of motorsport’s governing body of making “unacceptable” remarks about the value of the championship.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Monday described $20bn (£16.2bn) as an “inflated price tag put on F1”.
A letter sent by F1 and owner Liberty Media to the FIA says the remarks “overstep the bounds of both the FIA’s mandate and its contractual rights”.
He added that the FIA ”could be liable” for any damage to Liberty’s value.
The letter, sent on Tuesday, which was seen by BBC Sport, is co-written by F1 legal director Sacha Woodward Hill and Renee Wilm, who plays the same role for F1 owner Liberty Media.
F1 owns the commercial rights to the category under a 100-year lease signed by the FIA at the start of this century. The American group Liberty Media bought F1 in 2017.
The letter is a bombshell response to Ben Sulayem’s remarks on Twitter on Monday, reacting to a Bloomberg report that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had unsuccessfully tried to buy F1 for the figure.
Ben Sulayem described the valuation as an “allegedly inflated price” and said: “Any potential buyer is urged to exercise common sense, consider the greater good of the sport and come up with a clear and sustainable plan – not just a lot of money. “
He added: “It is our duty to consider what the future impact will be for developers in terms of increased hosting fees and other business costs. [in the event of any such sale].”
Woodward Hill and Wilm’s letter was addressed to the executive of the FIA and its World Motor Sport Council, the sport’s legislative body.
It marks a dramatic escalation in the strained relationship between F1 and the FIA that has been evident during Ben Sulayem’s 13 months as chairman.
The letter says that under the 100-year contract, F1 has “the exclusive right to exploit the commercial rights to the FIA F1 World Championship”.
He adds: “The FIA has made an unequivocal commitment not to do anything that may affect the ownership, management and/or exploitation of these rights.”
He says Ben Sulayem’s remarks, “made from the FIA President’s official social media account, interfere with our rights in an unacceptable way”.
Woodward Hill and Wilm write: “The circumstances in which the FIA would play a role in a change of control of the F1 group are very limited.
“Any suggestion or implication to the contrary, or that any potential buyer of F1 business is required to consult the FIA, is wrong.”
The letter adds that any “comment about the value of a listed entity, especially claiming or implying the possession of inside knowledge in doing so, is likely to cause substantial harm to shareholders and investors of that entity, not to mention the potential exposure to serious regulatory consequences.
“To the extent that these comments harm the value of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA may be held responsible.”
He concludes that F1 and Liberty “hope and are confident that it will not be necessary to address this issue again”.
The FIA has been contacted for comment.
What was Ben Sulayem doing?
Senior F1 sources have questioned the veracity of the claim that the Saudi PIF tried to buy F1.
Saudi Arabia is involved in F1 – its national fuel company Aramco is a corporate sponsor, and the country hosts a race which has one of the highest accommodation costs – but BBC Sport has been told its PIF had not at this stage attempted to buy the sport.
Ben Sulayem’s intervention raises a series of questions about why he felt the need to get involved in a commercial matter that is not his responsibility.
The FIA is required to stay away from commercial issues within F1 by an agreement reached with the European Commission more than 20 years ago.
And Ben Sulayem’s statement comes amid continued tension between the FIA on one side and F1 and teams on the other over the way the sport is run.
Liberty bought F1 in 2017 in a deal that valued the sport at $8.5 billion, since then its global appeal has grown significantly.
