Mohammed Ben Sulayem is set to remain president of motor racing’s FIA due to a quirk in the governing body’s rules that bars other candidates from challenging him in the upcoming election.
Potential candidates that have voiced their intention to stand include former FIA senior steward Tim Mayer, former racing driver Laura Villars, and Belgian journalist Virginie Philpott.
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 has already backed Ben Sulayem.
With no other South American representatives to choose from, no other candidates are eligible to stand for the election, leaving Ben Sulayem unopposed.
Ben Sulayem has served as president since December 2021, succeeding Jean Todt. He confirmed his intention to stand for a second term in May.
Responding to the revelations, an FIA spokesperson said: “The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, aimed at ensuring the fairness and integrity of each of its stages.
“The conditions applicable to the regional representation of the vice presidents for sport and the obligation to select them from the World Motor Sport Council in order to establish a presidential list are not new. These criteria already applied to previous elections.
“Preparing a candidacy for a presidential list or for the World Councils requires certain steps. Since the publication of detailed information on June 13, all potential candidates have the relevant information to prepare their candidacy.”
Robert Reid, who resigned from his role as deputy president of the FIA in April, took to LinkedIn to state: "If the incumbent already controls those names in any region through persuasion, pressure, or promise, then no challenger can form.
"The process looks democratic, but in practice, it locks the door from the inside. It isn't democracy. It isn't even unusual. But that doesn't make it right."
The revelations add to the growing discontent within some circles in motorsport over how the FIA, and particularly Ben Sulayem, has been changing how the governing body operates to his favour.
Earlier this year, a new rule was passed to allow the FIA Senate, controlled by Ben Sulayem, to nominate two candidates to the world council, effectively giving the president the power to unblock himself from standing for election if he was unable to meet the requirement for vice-presidential candidates. That move is not available to non-incumbents.
The president has also recently removed senior figures in the FIA who have 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”.
