Experienced motorsports organizer Tim Mayer has announced that he will run for the position of president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the global governing body of motorsports, opposing the controversial Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Launching his campaign today ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, Mayer said: "It's called FIA Forward because it's time for new energy, new focus and renewed integrity at the heart of our federation."
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Mayer was previously one of four lead FIA stewards (FIA Chairmen of the Stewards) for the elite Formula 1 series, and spent 15 years at the body in the high-profile stewarding role.
During that period, he also oversaw races in the World Endurance Championship, World Touring Car Championship, and World GT1 Championship, among others.
If elected, he will become the 11th president in the near 80-year history of the FIA, and would be the first American to hold the role.
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.
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By GlobalDataRecently, prominent former racer Carlos Sainz Sr. was reportedly considering a bid to run for FIA president, but in June he confirmed he would not be going forward with the campaign, but Walter’s bid means that Ben Sulayem will not run unopposed.
Mayer departed the FIA in November after being sacked by Ben Sulayem, something he attributes to the incumbent FIA president “taking offence” at a Mayer-led right of review document following the 2024 US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Speaking to the UK’s BBC public service broadcaster at the time, Mayer said "The official reason that will be given is they felt there was a conflict of interest with the FIA as I had led the right of review in my role as organiser," Mayer said.
"But that is not why I was fired. Being an organiser is a role that I have fulfilled, benefiting the FIA, for over 12 years. This isn't new.
"In spite of the matter being resolved quietly and amicably, he's still upset and decided to fire me. After 15 years of volunteering my time as a steward, a decade teaching other stewards and hundreds of hours volunteering in other roles, I got a text from one of his assistants."
Mayer is one of a number of high-profile FIA departures over the last year as Ben Sulayem’s tenure become even more divisive.
Although he was cleared of allegations of interfering in F1 races by an FIA ethics committee in March 2024, 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.”
Other names exiting the body include its race director Neils Wittich, governance and regulatory director Pierre Ketterer, compliance officer Paolo Basarri, deputy Formula 2 race director Janette Tan, 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 following his departure in April pointed 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.
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.”
In May, Ben Sulayem confirmed that the FIA had returned to profitability for the first time since 2018, marking a financial turnaround.
