Last Updated on July 4 2025, 12:43 pm

Is the reign of one of the most despised FIA presidents about to come to an end? Mohammed Ben Sulayem has almost completed his first four year term is head of the global sporting body and is up for re-election in December.

In days gone by an FIA president would be given as clear route to a coronation for their second term, yet such has been the controversy over this presidents tenure, senior figures in the F1 paddock have been lining up a replacement for some time.

Not only will Ben Sulayem face a challenger in the coming elections, but it will be one of the most respected figures in motorsport who will oppose him as Tim Mayer threw his hat into the ring on Friday in Silverstone. The US born sport’s administrator was thrown out of his role as F1 steward last November.

 

 

 

Mayer sacked for upsetting ben Sulayem

He represented the organisers of the USGP in their right to a review following the FIA’s ruling they “had failed to take reasonable measures thus resulting in an unsafe condition” following a crowd invasion of the track at the end of the Grand Prix. Upon receiving his ‘sack by text’ message, Mayer revealed that Ben Sulayem had taken “personally” that he had acted in an independent capacity against an FIA ruling.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has pretty much upset every one represented in the F1 paddock over the past four years. His tenure began with a clamp down on drivers wearing lucky underpants and jewellery along with a punishment for lewis Hamilton for failing to attend the mandatory end of year FIA Gala.

Opening up an application process for new F1 teams upset the current team owners, who were concerned their value would be diluted and sponsors spread more thinly. In a remarkable turn of events the teams and F1 were battered into submission over the issue, by the long arm of the US Justice department. Threats of multi billion fines for Liberty Media were made similar to those handed down to the NFL recently for ‘anti-competitive practices.’

Senior F1 figures grimaced, but bowed the knee. Just days before the ‘Cadillac’ application was approved, Ben Sulayem issued a remarkable rant on social media. He likened the F1 drivers to rappers demanding they clean up their potty mouths or suffer draconian consequences. 

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Scathing attack on Ben Sulayem’s record

The consequences were made formal at there turn of the season, as the F1 drivers learned should they swear three ties in a rolling calendar year, they would be banned for the next race. All in all, Ben Sulayem is not a president who has much respect from any quarter of the F1 paddock.

Mayer launched his campaign with. A scathing attack on the clock and dagger tactics of his opponent. “Three years ago it was actually four], Mohammed Ben Sulayem ran on good ideas: value for smaller clubs, transparency, reform. The message was right, the delivery has failed. Instead of reform, we’ve seen performance.

“Behind the stagecraft, we’ve been left with the illusion of progress; and the illusion of leadership, while the most senior team he appointed has departed. The illusion of inclusion, while capable voices, especially women and those from diverse backgrounds, were pushed out when they spoke truth. The illusion of a financial turnaround, when the FIA has really returned to pre-pandemic norms, but now with less independent oversight.

“The illusion of transparency and engagement, even as decision-making grows more centralised and dissent is punished. And perhaps most corrosive, the illusion of integrity. In four general assemblies, we’ve witnessed wave after wave of statute amendments, presented as modernisation or democracy, but in reality ushering in the greatest centralisation of power in the FIA’s history,” was the opening salvo from Mayer.

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A “reign of terror” at the FIA

He went ono to describe Ben Sulayem’s tenure as a “reign of terror”, where dissent is crushed but conceding “the one area of the FIA that has gone forward is the ability to write press releases celebrating small victories”. Having imposed nondisclosure agreements on senior members of the FIA at 

FIA World Motor Sport Council meetings, Mayer claims this in effect “gagged” members who were being “pushed out for exercising their oversight. That’s not governance,” he concluded.

The gloves are off and this election campaign is clearly not going to be without further contention. Mayer is the son of the highly respected co-founder of the McLaren F1 team, Teddy Mayer, and has been involved with the FIA for over a decade. He has worked in a diverse area including co-ordinating FIA governed motorsport in the USA, together with being a steward in F1 and the WEC along with working on a number of commissions.

At the recent meeting of the FIA World Motor Sports Council in Macau, Ben Sulayem rammed through statutory motions which make if more difficult for a sitting president of the FIA to be challenged in an election. He more than trebled the advance notice a candidate must give when declaring their run for the presidency together with handing the sitting president a veto should a candidate be a character deemed of ‘ill repute.”

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Mayer’s first focus on F1 stewarding debacle

For his application to run to be accepted, Tim Mayer needs a significant number of associations to declare their support for him. He needs an individual who will he’d up the senate, together with a number of vice presidents from several global regions. Mayer admits he does not yet have a full team declared behind him, which for now is a minor problem.

However, Tim reveals, “the people who help us with all of the logistics of what we need to do, that team is complete.” One of the issues he has cleverly chosen to focus on for now, is the debacle that is the F1 stewarding function. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Ben Sulayem decided to stand down driver steward Derrick Warwick for comments he made about F1 on a gambling website.

The race saw the stewards one short in their field office in Montreal. “We are very, very thin on professional stewards at that level,” says Mayer. “We have some great people doing an amazing job, not just in F1 but in WEC, in rallycross, in rally. Some incredibly dedicated people giving their time. But the support they’re getting isn’t that big.”

With the “entire officiating department” compromising of “one-and-a-half people” responsible for training stewards, Mayer observes this is woefully short when compared to other motorsports series “that take officiating seriously because it’s important for the fans to know they have that level playing field.”

The campaign is clearly set to be an ugly one and despite the whole of F1 most likely supporting Mayer’s challenge, its the 245 global associations who will decide the future FIA president.

 

 

 

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