FIA president Ben Sulayem strengthens control, passing key governance changes before the election amid rising ethical concerns and criticism.
The FIA has approved changes proposed in its governance by its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who aims to enhance his control over the federation. He notably suggested a change in how FIA Senate members are appointed.
While 12 of the 16 members are defined in the statutes as presidential appointees, the remaining four can be proposed by the president but must be validated by the other Senate members.
In Ben Sulayem’s new proposal, it is stated that the president—himself, in this case—can appoint the remaining four members without Senate approval. Additionally, he proposed moving up the deadline for presidential election candidacies, while currently being the only declared candidate for re-election.
Ben Sulayem also proposed that “nothing in the presidential election candidates’ files should question their professional integrity,” which could allow ethical breaches by candidates or their associates to be overlooked.
These proposals strengthening Ben Sulayem’s role were adopted by the FIA General Assembly in Macau this week, with member clubs—who have recently backed Ben Sulayem—voting 83.35% in favor of the power-consolidating measures, and 88.83% for those concerning the ethics code and candidates’ files.
“The FIA has taken steps since 2021 to strengthen its corporate governance policies,” said an FIA spokesperson. “These policies guide the FIA’s operations and ensure that its rules, practices, and processes are robust and transparent.”
“The proposed amendments to the FIA statutes are intended to further strengthen governance and confidentiality processes. They will give the nominations committee more time to review candidates’ eligibility criteria and help ensure consistency and rigor in the electoral process.”
“All proposed amendments were passed by a supermajority of FIA member clubs during the general assemblies, in accordance with the democratic process governing the Federation’s decision-making.”
Despite this “supermajority,” clubs that voted against the proposals expressed dissatisfaction—such as Austria’s OAMTC automobile federation, which believes the decisions could damage, rather than serve, the FIA’s image.
“There is no urgency regarding these proposed changes … they risk contributing further to the erosion of the FIA’s reputation for competent and transparent governance.”
“It cannot—and is not—a coincidence that the changes relating to FIA elections were promoted by the FIA leadership at the very moment the current FIA president announced his intention to run again.”
“When there is a risk that these changes appear to benefit the current FIA administration, and not the FIA itself, such changes should not be adopted.”
The first term of Ben Sulayem has bordered on disastrous, marked by controversy and a wave of voluntary departures from the federation, as he focused on secondary issues and clashed with Liberty Media and FOM.
In contrast, there is no sign of progress on his two major promises: the overhaul of F1’s sporting regulations following the Abu Dhabi 2021 fiasco, and the revival of the WRC. Yet Ben Sulayem remains positive about his record: “I am only accountable to my members. And they are happy. In fact, they are very happy. They are extremely happy.”
