FIA chief Mohammed ben Sulayem has reportedly decided to relinquished hands-on control of Formula 1 and informed the team bosses in a shock letter sent recently, according to British newspaper the Daily Mail
The president of the sport’s governing body, who is the most important personality in the world of motorsport, made the unexpected concession in a letter sent to team principals late on Monday afternoon.
The Emirati former rally driver will continue to remain president of the governing body.
Several close consultant have recommended him to task over what they perceive to be his grandstanding approach, and his apparent acknowledgement of these realities resulted in his letter, seen by Sportsmail, in which he explains: ‘My stated objective was to be a non-executive president via the recruitment of a team of professional managers, which has now been largely completed. Therefore, going forward, your day-to-day contact for all matters on Formula 1 will be with Nikolas (Tombazis, director of single-seater racing) and his team, while I will focus on strategic matters with my leadership team.’
Indeed it is completely true that Mohammed Ben Sulayem entered the FIA election with the clear acknowledgment of the fact that he would adopt a detached position at the top of a competent management group created to undertake front-of-house responsibility for Formula One, the highest profile of the myriad racing series the FIA governs across the world.
However, despite his initial promise, and the appointment of the FIA’s first ever chief executive a few months ago (former Volvo executive Natalie Robyn), Mohammed Ben Sulayem was very involved in many of the key topics of Formula 1 during the previous championship, with a constant presence at the race track to hand out awards on the podium and even sit with the drivers of the grid, much to their surprise.
His change of approach comes as several of his electorate – the world’s national sporting authorities, known as ASNs – were worked up into an agitated state by his antics if not quite exercised into open rebellion.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
A measure of this widespread disgruntlement was the fact that remarks he made 21 years ago were dug out a week ago last Friday from a now-defunct website once associated with him.
There, he said he did ‘not like women who think they are cleverer than men’, precipitating a ‘sexism row’.
The FIA explained that the statements do not reflect Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s considered views. They warned him he might be held liable for any financial damage caused to their business.
Clearly, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has proved to be a loose cannon at since during his short time as FIA president.
While he claimed, as many would see rightly, that the FIA’s significance should be reasserted in the tripartite balance of power in F1 – the FIA, F1 (Liberty) and the teams – he has been held liable for overreaching, not least in the farrago over the ban on jewellery he pioneered in what some considered an ad hominem attack on Lewis Hamilton.
Eyebrows were also raised at the visible level of his personal involvement in negotiations over Red Bull’s cost-cap breach, details of which were leaked, unprecedentedly from FIA insiders it is widely presumed, though vehemently denied, before the matter was resolved by due process.
The FIA explained in a recent statement: ‘The president’s manifesto clearly set out this plan before he was elected – it pledged “the appointment of an FIA CEO to provide an integrated and aligned operation,” as well as to “introduce a revised governance framework” under “a leadership team focused on transparency, democracy, and growth.” These goals, as well as the announcement of the new structure of the single-seater department have been planned since the beginning of this presidency. The FIA president has a wide remit that covers the breadth of global motor sport and mobility, and now that the structural reorganisation in Formula One is complete this is a natural next step.’ – the press release informed.
Racing car designer Nikolas Tombazis, who has worked in Formula One since 1992 for the Benetton, McLaren, and Scuderia Ferrari, is now the figure in charge of Formula 1 matters and the key person F1 team bosses will address to tackle the major issues.
Leave a Reply