FIA, The Rule Makers

Formula One is governed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the worldwide motorsport governing body. For almost as long as the sport has existed, the FIA has provided the rule book. It can – and frequently does – act independently of the teams in changing this book to serve what it judges to be in the sport’s best interests. The FIA controls only the sporting and technical aspects of the sport; European law prevents it from having any commercial control of the sport.
A body representing the teams, called the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), works with the FIA in helping to formulate the rules. Although FOCA doesn’t have any statutory power in making the rules, it does hold the commercial rights to Formula One. Essentially this means it negotiates the terms of the revenues and shares the resultant purse between its management and its member teams.
These two bodies have a long and bloody history together and used to fight each other as hard as the teams fought on the track. In latter years, however, they’ve cooperated, aided no end by Max Mosley – formerly a leading light in FOCA – getting himself elected as president of the FIA in 1991. With Mosley, a former Formula One team owner himself, in charge of the FIA, the poacher has turned gamekeeper. Another benefit of the arrangement is that Mosley, as a former team owner, should be able to appreciate the difficulties and pressures of the teams.