What's the position of President of the FIA and what do they do?

The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been underneath intense scrutiny within the latter components of 2024 as a result of an open letter from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Affiliation, which is the commerce union for Components 1 drivers.

Ben Sulayem has additionally appeared within the press on varied different events, claiming that the British media “convicted me” or that the FIA doesn’t get the credit score it deserves.

The 63-year-old Emirati has been within the job since 2021 having succeeded Jean Todt who held the place for 12 years – so right here is all to know concerning the position of FIA president.

What does the President of the FIA do?

The FIA president is the exterior face of motor racing’s governing physique, who leads the organisation and oversees any adjustments it makes to the championships underneath its umbrella.

To change into the FIA president, one should run for an election which is held each 4 years the place FIA Member Golf equipment are eligible to vote. These golf equipment span throughout six continents, together with the likes of the Royal Car Membership in London, the Australian Car Affiliation in Canberra or the Canadian Car Affiliation in Ottawa who all vote relying on which manifesto it likes essentially the most.

An FIA president is proscribed to a few phrases that means they will serve for a most of 12 years, subsequently Ben Sulayem is working for election once more in 2025 and may achieve this in 2029 as effectively.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, congratulates Max Verstappen, Pink Bull Racing, third place, in Parc Ferme

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

As soon as elected, the president is answerable for working the FIA and has an enormous say on no matter adjustments are made, for instance to the F1 race director.

Wittich was changed by the Components 2 race director Rui Marques at an analogous time it was introduced the FIA had launched a brand new Officers Division to begin a manufacturing line of educated race officers – headed by Ben Sulayem.

So the president is answerable for varied initiatives run by the FIA to assist develop motor racing. Extra of those initiatives embrace aiming to be Web Zero by 2030, introducing sustainable fuels to F1 for 2026 and even partnering with Cranfield College to award the Motorsport Engineering Scholarship to any individual with aspirations of a profession inside the business. The initiatives are subsequently at various ranges of the motorsport pyramid.

The president should additionally undertake huge public work. On an F1 weekend, for instance, Ben Sulayem is commonly in parc ferme after observe classes and on the rostrum presenting the winner’s medal to the driving force on the highest step or strolling down the pre-race grid networking with contacts.

It is usually Ben Sulayem’s job to host the FIA Prize Giving ceremony, which on the finish of every 12 months honours all of the newly topped champions of the completely different FIA sequence, the place the president delivers a speech and takes pictures with these receiving trophies.

Is the FIA President employed by F1?

F1 doesn’t make use of the FIA president, as a result of the championship is definitely sanctioned by the organisation that means it has no say on who the president is or what they do.

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA

Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photos

What different sequence does the FIA President cowl?

The FIA president is concerned in any motorsport sequence that’s regulated by the organisation, from F1 all the best way right down to karting.

There are presently 41 sequence which are run by the FIA, seven of that are thought of to be world championships: F1, Components E, World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, World Rallycross Championship, World Rally-Raid Championship and the World Karting Championship.

So the FIA president might have an involvement in any a kind of sequence and will in the end have the ultimate say on selections made concerning that respective championship.

How concerned with F1 does the FIA President often get?

Contemplating F1 is the largest championship underneath the FIA umbrella, the president has usually been seen at grands prix all through the years with a lot of the election manifestos regarding the sequence.

Todt, for instance, labored at Ferrari for 15 years and through his reign as president, he was instrumental in bringing hybrid engines to the sequence in 2014 and performed a job in F1’s We Race As One initiative which inspired larger range and condemned racism.

However Todt by no means publicly voiced his opinions as a lot as Ben Sulayem, which is one thing former Haas F1 boss Gunther Steiner thinks the president wants to vary.

“He is really a very good character,” Steiner instructed Sky Sports activities F1, “however as a president, I feel generally he will get concerned an excessive amount of into the game and he does not do himself any favours with that.

“You need to have individuals who run the organisation as a result of it is a massive job being a president of a federation just like the FIA and if you happen to become involved within the day-to-day working, I do not suppose there’s the time there to do it on the stage it must be finished.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, congratulates George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 3rd position, on the podium

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, congratulates George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Workforce, third place, on the rostrum

Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos

“He simply, for my part, ought to have good folks round him doing the job for him and he all the time will get concerned in it and generally he is critiqued.

“In these positions, it’s essential get used to being critiqued, you can not all the time be simply [about] how good you might be.

“In case you get reward you additionally get criticism and if you’re a public determine that’s a part of it. However it’s essential dwell with that, you can’t be everyone’s buddy. That’s simply not going to occur – not even [for] me!”

“We’ve got to distinguish between our sport – motorsport – and rap music,” Ben Sulayem instructed Autosport.

“We’re not rappers, you recognize. They are saying the F-word what number of instances per minute? We’re not on that. That is them and we’re [us].”

“We’ve got to watch out with our conduct,” he added. “We should be accountable folks.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President, Andrea Casiraghi

Picture by: Erik Junius

“And now with the know-how, every thing goes dwell and every thing goes to be recorded. On the finish of the day, now we have to check that to see: will we minimise what’s being stated publicly?

“As a result of think about you might be sitting together with your kids and watching the race after which somebody is saying all of this soiled language.

“I imply, what would your kids or grandchildren say? What would you train them if that’s your sport?”

It prompted an indignant response from the drivers finally resulting in the open letter from the GPDA, which not solely condemned Ben Sulayem’s actions but in addition requested for larger readability on how fines are allotted and the place the funds are spent.

So, the FIA president has naturally all the time had an enormous involvement in F1, but there are present debates over how a lot they need to publicly supply their opinions on what’s taking place inside the sequence.

How a lot does the President of the FIA receives a commission?

The FIA president doesn’t have a wage as a result of the governing physique is a non-profit organisation, which generates income by way of entry charges and tremendous licence charges from the groups that compete inside its championships.

Previous FIA Presidents

President

Years in place

Mohammed Ben Sulayem

2021 – current

Jean Todt

2009 – 2021

Max Mosley

1993 – 2009

Jean-Marie Balestre

1985 – 1993

Paul Alfons Furst Von Metternich-Winneburg