Formula One’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem re-elected as President

UAE National Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been reinstated for his second term as President of the Formula One motorsport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on 12th December, according to a report by The New York Times.

The Paris-headquartered FIA oversees Formula One and the World Rally Championship and leads global road-safety initiatives. It brings together over 240 member clubs in 146 countries, representing roughly 80 million people.

Ben Sulayem was re-elected as the sole candidate for the FIA elections, with potential opponents failing to qualify for the position. The election was held on 12th December in Uzbekistan, where the general assembly of the FIA 2025 was held.

The election was reportedly considered controversial, with no precedent for such a situation, and opposing candidate Laura Villars has filed a case against the FIA in a French court, citing ethical complaints against the process.

The election rule requires every presidential candidate to present vice presidents from all FIA global regions, including Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and MENA. As there was only one eligible South American candidate on the approved list (Fabiana Ecclestone) who supported Ben Sulayem, all the other candidates fell short of the requirement.

Other notable people who put forward their names for contention include former F1 steward Tim Mayer and Virginie Philippot, a Belgian journalist and beauty pageant titleholder.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem is the first non-European FIA President, first elected in the year 2021 after many senior roles in the FIA, as well as being the vice president for the sport. He is a 14-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion and played a huge role in bringing Abu Dhabi to the Formula One Calendar. He is also heavily supported by the 29 FIA MENA member clubs, who backed him for his second term as FIA President.

Under Ben Sulayem’s leadership, the FIA reported that it reversed a €24 million loss in 2021 to a €4.7 million operating result in 2024 — the federation’s strongest financial performance in nearly a decade, and continues to show sustained financial improvement.

His term as President has not been short of controversies, the earliest one being misogynistic remarks on women that he made on an old website. The clamping down on foul language while racing, which was introduced during his term, was seen as uncharacteristic of the sport by many drivers.

There were also allegations that he interfered with race officials to influence the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and that he disrupted the approval process for the Las Vegas circuit. An FIA ethics committee investigated both claims and cleared him of any wrongdoing in March 2024.

Some direct accusations on the internal handling by Ben Sulayem came when senior officials Robert Reid, deputy president of FIA and David Richards, Head of the UK motorsport federation, both resigned, citing a “governance crisis” and lack of transparency with the FIA.

The 2025 F1 season concluded in Abu Dhabi in a turbulent style with British driver Lando Norris taking the driver’s championship home by two points from his 2025 season rival, Dutch driver Max Verstappen.

The 2026 season is an exciting year for sports, with 22 cars racing in F1 for the first time since 2016, and the FIFA World Cup expanding to 48 teams for the first time in history.

The New York Times, Sport Star, Qatar Tribune, FIA, ESPN, The Times of India, Sky Sports, Maghrebi.org