Last Updated on May 15 2025, 5:12 pm
Formula One has just taken a ten day break from its travels as the early 2025 season fly away races come to an end. This weekend will see the F1 circus camp in the Emilia-Romagne district of Italy at the iconic Imola circuit where Ayrton Senna lost his life.
Yet in just ten days, a number this yea’s back stories have taken a twist or a turn. Mario Andretti, the non-executive director of the new Cadillac team joining the grid next year, admitted the better F1 drivers are all under contract and that hopes of an American driver may have to wait until 2027.
In what many see as a potential bribe in his election year, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has ordered a climb down over one controversial issue which has been upsetting the drivers since Singapore last season. The president raised the matter of bad language being used by the drivers and subsequently made draconian changes to Appendix B of the International Sporting Code over the winter.
FIA president rejects calls for transparency
Fines for the drivers swearing were quadrupled, with each of the competitors allowed three strikes before being banned for a month from F1 competition. This draconian attempt to pacify certain cultural sensitivities of various middle eastern partners in F1 did not go down well with the drivers.
George Russell, a spokesman from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, claimed they had in no way been consulted and that they were united in op[position to this latest move from the FIA president. Further, they called for greater transparency in how the FIA go about their day to day business when with just three race weekends remaining in 2024, F1 race director Neils Wittich was summarily sacked.
Ben Sulayemt responded quickly in an interview with Autosposrt where he was dismissive of the drivers’ concerns. “None of their business. Sorry,” he said. “With all respect, I am a driver. I respect the drivers. Let them go and concentrate on what they do best, which is race.
“Do we have to tell them? When something in the teams changes, do they tell us? No, they don’t. Nobody has to. We have the rules, we follow our rules. We don’t follow someone else’s rule. Simple as this.”
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Questions over how the FIA spent the various fines F1 teams and drivers were charged with came to the fore and again Ben Sulayem claimed it was justifiable that the way the fines were distributed was the concern of the FIA and the FIA alone.
Tensions in the paddock have grown significantly since the new FIA president was elected in November 2021. His back ground is rallying in the middle east and he is the first FIA president for over fifty year’s to have no F1 experience prior to taking office. To his credit, the Emirati pushed through and green lit the application for an eleventh team to join the F1 grid – something popular with fans and pundits alike.
Ben Sulayem won the 2021 elections with two thirds of the vote and his appeal to the hundreds of member associations around the world was that the workings of the FIA should be about more than just F1. Bizarrely he then continued to be one of the more hands on presidents in terms of day to day F1 activities, since the era of Max Mosely who left office almost seventeen years ago.
Despite his win over getting Cadillac admitted to the sport as the seventh team come 2026, much of the rest of Ben Sulayem’s tenure has been blighted by a series of petty disputes. On arriving in office he immediately ordered the FIA race stewards to clamp down on drivers’ on wearing jewellery in the cockpit.
F1 Swearing regulations diluted
This brought Lewis Hamilton front and centre into the row given his perchance for bling – and bling of an epic nature. Then there were questions over whether the F1 drivers were wearing the approved underwear – and not some lucky budgie smugglers they believed would bring them good fortune in the race.
Now Ben Sulayem has been forced into a climb down in the FIA’s position over driver swearing. Appendix B has been amended reducing the fines by 50% and offering the stewards the sanction of suspending the penalty completely for the first offence. Whilst George Russell has welcomed this move, it appears he hasn’t seen the full text just yet given the draconian one month ban appears to remain in place.
“So we’re talking about a situation where things have been reverted, because it was a little bit ludicrous in the first place. Of course, we’re happy to see things go back to how they should be, but it should never have been there in the first place, if that makes sense,” said the Mercedes driver.
“So it feels a bit wrong to be thanking [him for] the changes, when we shouldn’t have been in that place to begin with. So yeah, it’s a bit of a strange predicament, and we’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from senior level FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”
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Carlos Sainz Snr to challenge Ben Sulayem
This news may have been designed to cover up a more clandestine manoeuvre from the FIA president as he seeks to block the way of the nomination of Carlos Sainz Snr from running against him for the presidency.
Sainz Snr is believed to have been persuaded by F1 and most senior paddock members to oppose Ben Sulaymaniyah in this year’s presidential election. Like the president, he is not from the sport of Formula One and will appeal to those who Ben Sulayem curried favour with four years ago.
Speaking of the Sainz candidacy, Dutch racing diver Jeroen Bleekemolen tells F1.com, “He is the best possible person in the world to take on this role. Sainz understands and knows exactly how the sport works. There’s been a lot of political fuss lately, to put it mildly,” he added making the suggestion that its time for change and a less adversarial president of the FIA.
Ben Sulyamen attempts to block rival candidates
Yet Sainz may find his way blocked to making the FIA voting roster if Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport writer, Joel Lischka, is to be believed. He claims to have seen “a classified document” leaked from of the FIA’s Paris headquarters. Within it there is a proposed statute which says: “Anyone seeking the presidency must not only announce their candidacy but also their entire team earlier than before.”
Lischka concludes, “This would theoretically give the FIA commissions more time to find reasons for rejecting potential opponents.” Further, paddock rumours suggest Ben Sulayem is seeking to rule out Carlos Sainz Snr’s candidacy on the basis of a “conflict of interest” because his son is a c current F1 driver.
The proposed changes will be put to a vote at the FIA General Assembly in June. “Whether sufficient dissenting votes can be mobilised remains to be seen,” said Lischka. In true dictator style, the next step would be to ensure non of Ben Sulayem’s potential rivals are approved, paving the way for his coronation and a second term in office.
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Cadillac’s F1 ambitions take shape, but not with O’Ward, at least for now – As Cadillac ramps up its preparations for a Formula One debut in 2026, the American outfit is actively evaluating driver options for its inaugural grid. Backed by General Motors and expected to bring a distinctly American flavour to the F1 paddock, Cadillac’s entry has sparked curiosity as to which drivers could make the cut.
However, one prominent name linked with the new team – Mexican IndyCar star Pato O’ward – seems uninterested in abandoning his current career path for the Detroit-based project. In fact, not only has O’Ward shot down rumours linking him to Cadillac, he’s openly admitted that the speculation is a joke, dismissing any notion that he’s in serious talks with the team or GM executives…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
