FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reaffirmed himself as the ‘Head of the House’ in the continuing power struggle between Formula 1 and its governing body.
Ben Sulayem was elected as FIA President in December 2021 amid the fallout of the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that season.
Since his ascension to the role, the FIA and commercial wing, FOM (owned by Liberty Media since 2017), have increasingly come to blows over matters of management.
Ben Sulayem has faced criticism from team bosses over his push to welcome Andretti onto the F1 grid while the governing body also faced widespread condemnation for its “baseless” and “intimidatory” investigation into a possible conflict of interest involving Toto and Susie Wolff.
As F1 continues to grow globally, the continued power struggle between the FIA and FOM has led to concerns although Ben Sulayem insists that the friction observed under his premiership is ‘healthy’.
“I’m just asking for clarity and fairness,” Ben Sulayem told Motorsport Magazin in a recent interview. “I am not involved in the stock price or ticket sales. We just need fairness here, that’s my mission.
“We need to understand who I represent. I represent the head of the house. We are not a service provider! I keep saying that and I believe it too. But like you said, friction is sometimes healthy to bring out the best.
“We want the best for the sport. I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll say it very humbly and clearly: you won’t wake up tomorrow and the FIA is no longer there. For others it is different.
“Liberty also has the right to sell the lease to another company. Tomorrow it could no longer be with them but with someone else. Then I have to get along with them.
“That is the difference between us. I respect them, they are here for profit. That’s why they bought it. Why else would they buy the lease? They are smart people and I support them.”
The outspoken President has frequently come under fire for his hands-on management when it comes to F1, however, Ben Sulayem remains unfazed by increasing pressure on his premiership.
“I was elected by the members of the FIA to do the best for the FIA. I don’t get paid, I don’t complain about it, I already knew that,” he explained.
“At the end of the day, I know who is attacking me. And they think I don’t know. Do you really think I would be in this position if I had stupid people around me? Of course, my team is very smart.
“The paddock is a very small circle, everyone knows everyone. You know who has leaked something or made something up about me. I know it. And what am I doing? I smile at that. I know who is behind it and then I smile at them. Is it counterproductive? No. Is it good for business? No.
“Do you know what’s good for business? Honesty. You sit together, you discuss, you shake hands, you sign a contract. We know what our responsibility and our task is and vice versa. Clarity is very important.
“I’m not against anyone’s business, that’s for sure. People are here to make money. Every product we have here, every sponsor, every partner: if they invest, there is something in return. Nobody does it for nothing.
“The FIA is different. We are not profitable. But we also have to support our finances. We need to give more value to the people who work for us.”
Following the 2023 F1 season, the FIA has suffered somewhat of a mass exodus as sporting director Steve Nielsen, Deborah Mayer, the FIA’s head of its commission for women and single-seater technical director Tim Goss have all left their posts in recent weeks.
so cool!