FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the sport’s governing body will “never get the credit” it deserves for running Formula 1.
The former rally driver will mark the third anniversary of his election to the top job at the FIA. He will soon have a re-election campaign to focus on.
Although the governing body of motorsport is responsible for much more than just Formula 1, the world championship is unquestionably what it is most famous for. But much of the credit for F1’s growth in recent years has gone to Liberty Media, which became its commercial rights holder four years before Ben Sulayem took charge at the FIA.
However he believes the positive changes the FIA have made tend to be overlooked, and its contribution to F1’s progress should be regarded as similarly important. “Liberty Media did a great job in transforming Formula 1,” he told Motorsport last month. “If you tell me if I could go back in time, would I undo [that]? No way. I wouldn’t undo that, but I would just make sure that the FIA is two equals with them.
“They are a good promoter, they are. If you ask me today: is there anyone who is capable as much as them? I can see that [there isn’t]. I support them in what they are doing. The FIA works with them in the best [possible] way.”
Not everyone is enamoured with the FIA under Ben Sulayem, however. Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner recently laid out his concerns about the direction the governing body has taken since Ben Sulayem replaced Jean Todt:
“My differences of opinion with the current president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, for instance, have become pretty well known over the past couple of years, and comparing him with Jean Todt, who in my opinion was an excellent president, is like comparing apples with pears,” wrote Steiner in his new book.
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“Don’t get me wrong, Mohammed’s a nice guy, but his era in charge has been chaotic so far and he’s managed to upset just about every team and every team principal. “Jean, on the other hand, always ran a steady ship and managed to get on with just about everybody. Unlike Mohammed, he had a background in F1 and that inspired confidence.”
Is this a fair assessment of the FIA’s handling of F1 under Ben Sulayem? Particularly given that he took over as the sport was engulfed in a…
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