Ever since the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season, lots of attention has been placed on the FIA presidential election, which was held in December. With Mohammed Ben Sulayem taking over for Jean Todt in late 2021, he was seeking to continue his role for four more years.
For several months, there were only rumors of other potential candidates, with names such as Susie Wolff and Carlos Sainz Sr. being included quite often. As we got to the latter end of the season, Laura Villars and Tim Mayer were the two people who had come forward in an attempt to put an end to Ben Sulayem’s presidency.
But one unfortunate regulation to pursuing candidacy prevented either of them from opposing the incumbent. All candidates must have at least one representative from each region of the world to support their candidacy. However, there was only one representative from South America entirely, and that was Fabiana Ecclestone, the wife of Bernie Ecclestone.
As a result, Mohammed Ben Sulayem ran unopposed in this presidential race and is now set to continue his reign as the FIA’s president for four more years.
More people must speak out against the imbalance of power
When Mayer was forced to drop out of the race in October, he accused the FIA of lacking transparency and mentioned that the organization only appears to be democratic but is truly far from it.
Villars is taking the result of this election to court in Paris, with a hearing set for next month. Legal action is certainly one avenue where Ben Sulayem’s victory could be deemed illegitimate.
The FIA is a very powerful and important organization for motorsport racing around the world. To even have such a regulation, which resulted in only one candidate for the presidency, does not shed a positive light on the FIA, especially when the re-elected candidate has been involved in lots of controversy during his reign.
A big worry for high-ranking FIA officials when it comes to speaking out against Ben Sulayem is that they run the risk of suddenly being relieved of their duties. The best place for the criticism to come from is the drivers, teams, and team principals, as the consequences would not be so drastic.