FIA president’s “reign of terror” detailed by challenger – Whilst it has been accepted practice for more than two decades that a sitting FIA president would stand unchallenged during their maximum three term tenure in office, Mohammed Ben Sulaymen will face competition for the role at the upcoming elections in December.
The incumbent at the head of the FIA has chartered a course during his first term in office which has seen him persistently at loggerheads with various individuals and organisations within the F1 paddock.
His first public act was to fine Lewis Hamilton for failing to attend the 2021 FIA gala as mandated which was quickly followed by a clampdown on F1 drivers wearing jewellery whilst in the cockpit, something Hamilton took as a personal attack.
Ben Sulayem raising hell in F1
Next up was ‘underpants gate’ as the FIA officials were told to ensure the drivers were not wearing ‘lucky’ underwear and competing with the safety standards as laid out in the sporting code.
Ben’s biggest drama arose from him criticising a rumoured sale of the F1 commercial rights by Liberty Media for a reported $20bn to there Saudi sovereign wealth fund. He described the price as “exaggerated” on social media and claimed the FIA could have a veto over any potential buyer via a “Don King” clause in the F1 governing bodies constitution.
He was quickly rebuffed by a letter from Liberty media’s lawyers, threatening him to ‘cease and desist’ together with the threat of a lawsuit, should the comments of the FIA president negatively affect the value of their investment.
The Emirati’s next move almost felt like retaliation for his treatment over the Saudi rumours as he provocatively opened a process whereby applications would be made from those wishing to form an eleventh team on the grid.
FIA president wins battle for 11th team
FOM and the teams were vehemently against this, refusing to accept the FIA’s decision to green light the application by Andretti Global. Yet with the threat of a 4$bn fine looming over the commercial rights owners as the US Justice department investigated the closed shop that is F1, a deal was hurriedly agreed at the 2024 USGP.
A change in name to Cadillac appeared to satisfy some internal F1 politics along with the fact Michael Andretti stepped away from the project completely.
This year, there appeared to be harmony between the office of the FIA president, as he backed previous calls from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in calling for a return to simpler and less expensive power units. Yet despite his attempt to build bridges, Ben Sulayem now faces a challenger in former F1 employee Tim Mayer for the office of FIA president.
Mayer announced his bid at the British Grand Prix, although surprisingly non of the key players in the paddock were available to comment. Mayer now reveals although he has nigh on universal support from the teams and FOM, they are reticent to publicly express their backing for fear of reprisals from Ben Sulayem.
Ben Sulaymen’s “reign of terror”
In an exclusive interview with The Race, Mayer now details the situation in the F1 paddock, stating “I have to be quite careful on their behalf, but the feedback that I’ve got is that I am saying the things that they don’t feel that they can say,” said the presidential hopeful. “I’m not referring to any specific person individually, but collectively the paddock is telling me: ‘Hey, thank you for saying that. Because I feel like if I say it, my team’s in trouble, or we’re in trouble, whatever it might be’.
Mayer refuses to name names and questions whether the role of a regulator in any sport should cause such a suppression of the freedom of speech. “It’s interesting,” he added, “I’ve used this ‘reign of terror’ phrase about Mohammed, and in no democratic system in the world should it be that people are afraid to speak out. But they are…”
The American candidate received an open letter from the president of the FIA region IV, Ricardo Morales Rubio, criticising him for his rhetoric. Yet Mayer defends his choice of words, explaining: “If you look at the way the staff are managed – staff come, staff go. I invite you to look at LinkedIn on any given day, there are open slots all over the place. It is a demonstrable fact that the staff turnover right now is just appalling, and it’s because it’s a very difficult environment to work in.”
At his press conference in Silverstone, Mayer had stated that Ben Sulayem’s claims about progress under his leadership over inclusion and diversity was in fact an illusion. He was criticised by the chairperson of the FIA women in motorsport, Burcu Cetinkaya Bonnet, who urged him to reconsider his remarks.
“An illusion of inclusion”
Yet Mayer has doubled down on the matter, revealing “I absolutely stand by my comments. I wrote her a letter back and said: ‘Look, I absolutely celebrate the victories that exist. But you have to put them in context’. “The number of people that are on the world council was actually the result of a statute change that was put in place by [former FIA president] Jean Todt. This is not Mohammed revolutionising things.
“That illusion of an inclusion that I referenced: you can take a look at [former FIA CEO] Natalie Robyn, or the head of the DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion, Sara Mariani], who recently got taken out quite publicly. There’s a list of women who are in positions of influence, who come, try to establish their position and then are swept out. And again, you don’t need to take my word for it. You can just look at the list,” Mayer insisted.
The presidential hopeful believes the role of the FIA president should be more strategic considering issues which may only surface a decade down the road. “The job of the president for me is to go out and develop that consensus, then come back and say: ‘OK, now, executive, here’s where we’re going to be in 10 years’ time. Let’s work the plan backwards. Let’s figure out where all the intermediate points need to be’.
“What we absolutely should not be doing is walking into the paddock in Bahrain and saying: ‘Let’s have V10 engines’. And then next month walking in and saying, ‘Let’s have V8 engines’”.
Fears of reprisals for Mayer’s team
Tim Mayer must publish his presidential team which must include a number of regional presidents and vice presidents who are committed to vote for him. Yet again he believes the culture Ben Sulayem has brought to the FIA means he will do this at the very last minute.
“The presidential list doesn’t actually have to be published until October 23,” said the American. “I would love to be able to come roaring out of the gate and say: ‘Here’s the team’. Unfortunately, the process discourages that. And if you look back at Mohammed’s campaign last time out, the presidential list wasn’t fully announced until quite late in the game.”
Ben Sulayem recently persuaded the body which sets the regulations for the FIA’s operational activity, to allow the sitting president a right of veto to use against any potential challenger in presidential elections. He further extended the period by which any challenger’s team must be declared to 45 days before the election takes place.
There are 245 FIA member associations around the world, many of whom care little about Formula One. They will revel in Ben Sulayem’s troublemaking in the sport, which will be deemed as him cracking down on those who believe it’s all about F1. And it is they who will decide the future of the FIA presidency, with F1 having little if not no representation at all in the matter.
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