Members of the European Parliament have backed a probe into alleged "anti-competitive practices" in Formula 1 following recent complaints to the European Commission.
Both Force India and Sauber wrote to the competition commission back in 2015 asking for an investigation to go ahead, whilst UK Labour MEP Anneliese Dodds submitted a report to the EU Commission calling for "an immediate investigation into competition concerns arising from the Formula 1 industry".
That complaint has prompted the EU Parliament to vote on whether the competitions commission should investigate the matter – although it isn't required to follow the recommendation.
The vote was backed overwhelmingly by 467 votes to 156, with 86 abstentions, making an investigation more likely.
"Smaller teams are unfairly punished by an uncompetitive allocation of prize money that will always give the biggest teams more money, even if they finish last in every race," Dodds said.
"The problems in Formula 1 extend well beyond the allocation of prize money, with serious concerns being raised about an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs that allowed the sport to pay an effective two-per-cent tax rate."
Dodds is also concerned over the sale of the sport and the recent Manor bankruptcy.
"There is also significant conflict of interest over the recent sale of the sport to Liberty Media, after the regulator received a $79.5m (€75.2m) profit from authorising the sale," Dodds added.
"A few weeks ago Manor Racing became the latest team in the south east of England to collapse after administrators failed to find a buyer.
"Smaller teams are unfairly punished by an uncompetitive allocation of prize money that will always give the biggest teams more money, even if they finish last in every race.
"I have written a number of letters to the European Commission calling for a full investigation and I am grateful that the rest of the European Parliament has added its voice to this call. We must ensure that we don't lose even more highly skilled jobs in this sector and allow a sport loved by 500 million fans to become increasingly less competitive."
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