Ben Sulayem to run motor sport for four more years

• Re-elected as president of FIA
• More upheaval expected
• Finalised deal for future of F1

Formula One can expect more upheaval from Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s second term as president of motor sport’s governing body, a sports analyst has told AGBI.

The 64-year-old Emirati will lead the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) until 2029, after being re-elected unopposed at its general assembly last Friday.

Simon Chadwick, professor of AfroEurasian sport at Emlyon Business School in Lyon and an AGBI columnist, said: “We should expect some further uncertainty as [Ben Sulayem] effects further organisational change, albeit with perhaps some stability towards the end of his second term.”

His first four years in charge included several controversies over governance and decision-making within the FIA. 

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In March 2024, the federation confirmed it was investigating allegations from two whistleblowers who said Ben Sulayem had sought to block the Las Vegas Strip circuit for the 2023 F1 race and had interfered in the 2023 Saudi Grand Prix.

He was cleared of any wrongdoing in both cases.

Tensions with drivers escalated in late 2024 after F1’s Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were penalised for swearing, prompting protests from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association. This year drivers in the World Rally Championship made similar complaints.

Over the past four years, several senior FIA officials have resigned or been dismissed after raising governance concerns, prompting criticism that oversight has been curtailed under Ben Sulayem.

However, in an interview with GrandPrix247 published on Saturday, Ben Sulayem said he would not do anything differently if he had his time again.

“I would not have reached where I reached now if I did not go through these challenges, this aggression. My God, I was attacked day and night. Do I care? OK, sometimes you are human. But to tell you the truth, I just ignore everything and focus on what I promised I would be focusing on,” he said.

His re-election also faces a legal challenge from Swiss racing driver Laura Villars, who had planned to stand against Ben Sulayem and alleges that FIA rules in effect blocked rival candidates.

Under FIA regulations, each candidate for president must nominate a vice-president from each global region, but the pool of potential VPs includes just one South American – the Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone, who was already on Ben Sulayem’s slate.

As a result, no other candidate was able to assemble a compliant ticket, leaving the election uncontested.

A hearing in Villars’ legal action is scheduled for February, according to her lawyer Robin Binsard.

Under Ben Sulayem’s stewardship the FIA reversed a €24 million ($28 million) loss in 2021 to report an operating profit of €4.7 million in 2024, its strongest financial result in almost 10 years.

He was also instrumental in finalising the Concorde Governance Agreement between the FIA and F1’s 11 teams. Together with this year’s Commercial Concorde Agreement, it sets out how revenues are shared and how the championship will be run and resourced in the coming years. 

Chadwick said: “What’s clear is that F1 is important to [Ben Sulayem] and his vision for the FIA, hence we should expect a continuing focus on this series of racing.”