Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the controversial president of motor racing’s FIA governing body, has launched a bid to remove term limits from the role in a move that would further consolidate his power.
Currently, no FIA president can hold the role longer than 12 years, the equivalent of three consecutive four-year terms, but Ben Sulayem has put forward an amendment to eliminate that statute, effectively granting him, or any other future president, an indefinite tenure.
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Ben Sulayem was re-elected unopposed in December 2025, having served as president since December 2021.
Since 2021, he has consolidated his power and, in 2025, ran unopposed in the presidential election after exploiting a loophole that limited competition.
Under FIA rules, candidates for the December 12 election are required to submit a list of potential team members on October 24. The team must feature 10 names, including the president, president of the Senate, two deputy presidents, and seven vice-presidents from each of the FIA’s global regions.
However, there is only one candidate from the World Council list available as a potential vice-president from South America – Brazil’s Fabiana Ecclestone, wife of former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, who had already backed Ben Sulayem.
With no other South American representatives to choose from, no other candidates were eligible to stand for the election, leaving Ben Sulayem unopposed.
Now, with the elimination of term limits also set to become reality, Ben Sulayem has forged a path for himself to stay in his role even beyond 2033.
This change will be voted on at the upcoming FIA General Assembly on June 26 in Macau, and is likely to pass, owing to the strong support Ben Sulayem has engendered from within the organization, and perhaps his reported hard-line attitude to those in disagreement with him.
Indeed, across 2024 and 2025, the president removed senior figures in the FIA who had raised concerns over his conduct and that of the organization, including former chief executive Natalie Robyn, head of the audit committee Bertrand Badre, compliance officer Paolo Basarri, and Mayer, who was removed from his role last November.
At the time, Mayer accused Ben Sulayem of a “failure in leadership” and a “reign of terror”, while Robyn said the FIA has “serious ongoing structural challenges”.
Responding to the move, Tim Mayer, who was blocked from opposing Ben Sulayem for the FIA presidency, told UK public broadcaster the BBC: "Term limits are not a bureaucratic detail. They are a fundamental safeguard of good governance, recognised as essential to preventing the concentration of power, ensuring renewal of leadership, and maintaining accountability to those an organisation exists to serve."
