The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has received a lot of media attention during the last year. Formula One’s governing body was in the spotlight after revelations about the private life of its president Max Mosley and his subsequent court case against the News of the World newspaper. And the organisation was back in the news earlier this month when McLaren’s driver Lewis Hamilton was stripped of his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Yet much less media coverage has been devoted to the FIA’s funding, the extent of its powers and its influence at all levels of the motoring sector. While Bernie Ecclestone holds F1’s purse strings, some of the most important factors affecting his business, such as which races are allowed on the calendar and limits to team budgets, are under the control of the FIA.