Elite motor racing’s FIA governing body has published its financial results for the 2024 financial year, marked by rising year-on-year (YoY) income that has marked a financial turnaround at the body since 2021.
Across 2024, the FIA generated revenue of €182 million ($205.4 million), up €26.7 million (17%) on the 2023 fiscal year, producing a profit of €4.7 million while the body remains debt-free, with a “healthy” equity to assets ratio of 45%.
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This ends five consecutive years between 2019 and 2023, in which the FIA had made annual operating losses each year.
In its press release relating to the results, the FIA cites the 2021 election of current president Mohammed Ben Sulayem as a driving factor in the body’s turnaround.
FIA president Ben Sulayen said: “Upon my election as President of the FIA, I committed to ensuring a profitable operation. Today, I am incredibly proud to show that we have achieved this mission, delivering the strongest set of financial results in eight years.
“Improving the governance, transparency, and financial health of the FIA was central to my manifesto pledge, and I will continue to work with all of our internal and external stakeholders to drive positive change within the FIA, to deliver better outcomes for our member clubs, our people, and for all.”
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By GlobalDataThe FIA has said that it will now use its strengthened financial position to reinvest in the seven world championships that it sanctions, as well as looking to strengthen grassroots motorsport uptake and undertake further sustainability initiatives.
Despite the growth period the body now finds itself in, Ben Sulayem is nonetheless a controversial figure often criticized for the considerable power he wields, particularly over motor racing’s elite category, Formula 1 (F1).
With the results, Ben Suslayem announced a mid-year second general assembly for the body, which will take place in June, at which he is reportedly set to table a number of motions that could consolidate his power, such as bringing forward the deadline for candidacy, a move that may restrict the possibility of others running against him.
The next FIA presidential election is set to take place at the FIA general assembly on December 12, 2025, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with Ben Sulayem seeking a second four-year term.
Among those who have declared their opposition to Ben Sulayem is former Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Sr., a two-time World Rally champion, who is said to be popular among motorsports executives, but will have work to do to win over pro-Ben Sulayem FIA members.
Ben Sulayem has nonetheless courted controversy duing his term, and in March of 2024, the UAE native came under investigation by an FIA ethics committee after allegations of interfering in F1 races surfaced.
Although he was cleared by the FIA later that month, further turmoil ensued, with the body’s first chief executive Natalie Robyn departing in May of 2024, while in April 2025 FIA deputy president Robert Reid also departed, the latter citing “a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold.”
Reid entered the role in 2021 alongside then newly-elected Ben Sulayem, but in the years since, his relationship with the body’s leader has deteriorated, with Reid pointing to “decisions being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to represent” as a core driver behind his resignation in a letter seen by UK media.
In a statement posted on social media, Reid said: “I took on this role to help deliver greater transparency, stronger governance, and collaborative leadership.
“Over time, those principles have been increasingly set aside, and I can no longer, in good faith, remain part of a system that no longer reflects them.”
Other high-profile FIA departures over the last year include the body’s race director Neils Wittich, lead steward Tim Mayer, governance and regulatory director Pierre Ketterer, and head of commercial legal affairs Edward Floydd, representing major flight in both administrative, legal, and sporting regulatory personnel.
Though most of these departures have not been related, Reid’s statement points to a growing discontent within the FIA, particularly with Ben-Sulayem, who has come under fire multiple times during his FIA presidency, including the revelation of historic sexist remarks, and in 2023, he claimed he had been the victim of a smear campaign against his name.
