From driver swearing to sacked stewards, right here is each scandal the FIA is going through

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is making ready to run for re-election on the head of motorsport’s governing physique, the FIA. However the vote comes at a troublesome time for the organisation after it was rocked by resignations, sackings and raised tensions with drivers.

Ben Sulayem took the helm of the Fédération Internationale de l’Vehicle from Jean Todt following an election in 2021. He’s now making ready his marketing campaign for a second time period, however the vote might be clouded by a raft of controversies which have hit the organisation since he took workplace.

Virtually as quickly as the previous rally driver took to the function, the controversies began. In 2022, a ban on driver jewelry and checks for flameproof underwear rocked F1, and the tensions have solely risen within the years since.

Now, to maintain observe of the most important points to hit the FIA in current months, we’ve rounded up all of the scandals which have hit motorsport’s governing physique over the previous 12 months.

Alleged interference in F1 races

Early in 2024, Ben Sulayem confronted an investigation into his administration of the FIA, which included allegations that he interfered with the results of sure Formulation 1 races.

The FIA president was investigated after a whistleblower accused him of making an attempt to intrude with the results of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It was claimed that Ben Sulayem tried to have a 10-second time penalty imposed on the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso overturned.

The FIA’s ethics committee, supported by exterior advisors, investigated the allegations over a 30-day interval. Following the conclusion of their report, Ben Sulayem was cleared of interfering in races.

FIA governance questioned

In Could 2024, the FIA’s first high-profile departure hit when chief government officer Natalie Robyn left the governing physique.

Previous to her departure, Robyn raised questions over the governance of the FIA and its skilled practices. The previous CEO particularly highlighted points close to the FIA’s funds and the workplace of its president.

A 12 months after her departure from the function, Robyn spoke out in regards to the questions she raised, saying the organisation confronted “critical ongoing structural challenges,” and added that the problems threatened “each the credibility and the long-term effectiveness of an necessary establishment.”

Driver swearing bans start

The FIA quickly sparked the scorn of drivers competing in sequence it sanctioned when it tried to clamp down on swearing over staff radio and in FIA press conferences.

Purple Bull racer Max Verstappen was the primary to really feel the wrath of the FIA on this topic, when he was handed a neighborhood service order for swearing in an FIA press convention. Since then, the controversy has solely spiralled and drivers in different sequence have been caught up within the controversy.

George Russell, Mercedes

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures

WRC drivers protested the ban by agreeing to solely converse with reporters of their native languages, quite than English, and F1 driver George Russell stated the controversy had gotten “out of hand.”

Lastly, after months of forwards and backwards, Ben Sulayem stated in April that he was open to altering the governing physique’s sporting code over swearing and “inappropriate language.”

Niels Wittich departs 

One other excessive profile departure on the FIA got here in November 2024, when F1 race director Niels Wittich was faraway from the function.

On the time, his departure was dubbed “bizarre” by Verstappen and “shocking” by Wittich himself, after he had held the put up for a bit over two years. Wittich has since revealed that “nobody has been capable of give me a solution” as to why he was let go from the place forward of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

It was a transfer that sparked backlash from F1 insiders and consultants, and following the announcement Grand Prix Drivers’ Affiliation director, George Russell, stated: “Some drivers are actually fed up with the state of affairs as a result of it simply retains going within the improper route.”

His feedback have been adopted by a response from Ben Sulayem, who stated that the transfer was “none of their enterprise. Sorry.”

Extra senior figures step down

Additional departures stung the organisation only a few weeks later when senior steward Tim Mayer and F2 race director Janette Tan additionally left the organisation.

Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President, Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Single Seater Director

Picture by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Motorsport Pictures

Tan left the organisation simply days earlier than she was resulting from oversee her first race, the F2 occasion in Qatar, and no motive for her departure was made public. Mayer left his function as an FIA steward on the identical time, with out an official motive for his departure.

Nevertheless, it was believed that his dismissal got here amid tensions with Ben Sulayem over the circumstances surrounding a observe invasion at america Grand Prix.

Simply days after leaving his put up, Mayer took purpose on the FIA president. He pinned the controversial clamp down on swearing on Ben Sulayem, and stated that the previous rally driver “instantly concerned himself in making his views recognized” throughout the organisation. Mayer additionally revealed that he was let go from his place by way of textual content message, which he stated did “not converse properly of the administration of the federation.”

Officers barred from FIA conferences

The rift between the FIA and its members widened in February when a number of high-ranking officers have been barred from a gathering of the World Motor Sport Council.

At a gathering on 26 February, the FIA tried to clamp down on leaks coming from throughout the organisation by demanding that each member current on the assembly signal a non-disclosure settlement (NDA). FIA deputy president Robert Reid and David Richards, the chairman of UK Motorsport, refused to signal the NDA, and have been subsequently refused entry to the WMSC assembly.

The organisation stated the paperwork have been meant to “guarantee confidential relationships between all events.” On the time of their ban, Reid and Richards didn’t touch upon the matter.

Robert Reid, FIA

Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Pictures

Robert Reid resigns

Simply two months after he was refused entry to a World Motor Sport Council assembly, Reid made his emotions on the state of the FIA clear and stepped down from his function as deputy president.

The previous WRC co-driver resigned from his function on 10 April with rapid impact, citing a “breakdown of governance requirements” on the FIA. After holding the place for over three years, Reid stated that his resignation was “not about personalities; it’s about rules.”

He stated that motorsport deserved “management that’s accountable, clear, and member-driven,” earlier than including that he may “not, in good religion, stay a part of a system that doesn’t replicate these values.”

Carlos Sainz Sr may run for election

Lower than a month after the departure of Reid, the FIA’s presidency is again within the highlight as rally driver Carlos Sainz Sr seems to be making ready to throw his hat into the ring for motorsport’s prime job.

A number of key figures from throughout the motorsport world have reportedly approached the previous World Rally champion and Dakar winner about working towards Ben Sulayem.

Ought to Sainz Sr determine to marketing campaign for the function, he’ll need to win both an absolute majority in first-round voting or a easy majority within the second spherical of voting at a gathering of the FIA Common Meeting.

The subsequent common meeting, and with it the subsequent presidential election, can be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 12 December.