Crunch day for controversial FIA vote

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem will discover today if changes to the motorsport federation’s statutes will be approved.

The FIA General Assembly will convene in Kigali, Rwanda, ahead of the prize-giving ceremony, where members will vote on the proposals.

Alterations would restrict the ethics and audit committees’ control and reduce the responsibilities of the compliance officer, which would see powers delegated to the FIA president and the president of its senate, rather than the senate itself.

It would also remove the power of the audit committee to investigate financial issues independently.

It comes after Ben Sulayem was investigated – and cleared – by the ethics committee earlier this year following claims made by a whistleblower that he interfered in the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The details, first revealed by the BBC, also say the audit committee would no longer be required to be involved in the closing of the FIA’s accounts, and that it was up to “the president of the senate to consult the committee if they deem it necessary”.

Serval key F1 figures have privately raised their concerns to Motorsport.com about the changes, which would ultimately weaken independent investigations within the organisation and would change the way the FIA’s leadership would be made accountable for its governance.

Former BAR F1 team boss, David Richards, who is the UK’s representative on the World Motor Sport Council, told the BBC he was “concerned that major organisations around the world would refuse to work with the FIA if it did not reflect the highest standards of corporate governance, as befits our sport”.

Richards also said that he hoped the FIA would rethink its plans to make changes to its governance.

Ahead of today’s decision, the head of Austria’s motorsport federation admitted he was “saddened” by the proposed changes.

Oliver Schmerold, the chief executive officer of the OAMTC, told the BBC that it would be “not good governance” and “not good in terms of checks and balances”.

In what would be a blow to those who are opposed to the changes, Schmerold added that, despite telling Ben Sulayem about his reservations to the alterations to the governance structure, he expected his views were futile and that the changes would be approved by member clubs on Friday.

Should…