Apr.17 (GMM) Another candidate has emerged as a potential rival for controversial FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the forthcoming elections.
Earlier, amid obvious unrest and high-profile departures at Formula 1’s governing body, it was rumoured that Susie Wolff may take on the incumbent.
Her husband, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, only offered a half-hearted denial. “Not that I know of,” he insisted when asked if his wife was considering a run.
Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko, however, insisted that Susie as FIA president is “impossible” while her husband runs and co-owns an actual F1 team.
Still, Ben Sulayem is now a highly unpopular FIA president. In Bahrain alone – the 63-year-old’s first appearance at a grand prix so far in 2025 – two notable incidents were captured on camera.
In one, Lewis Hamilton ignored the Emirati’s offer of a hug, while the cameras also captured the moment on the grid when Luca di Montezemolo – his first appearance at a race in a decade – gave Ben Sulayem a blatant ‘thumbs down’ right to his face.
“If I interpret that hand signal correctly, it didn’t seem very friendly,” Finnish commentator Ossi Oikarinen said on Viaplay.
“It seems that things are pretty tense at the FIA at the moment. I don’t think everything we are hearing are just rumours.”
Indeed, former F1 team boss and current Motorsport UK chair David Richards was declined entrance at the World Motor Sport Council meeting in February for declining to sign a confidentiality agreement.
As recently as just a few days ago, Richards continued to slam the Ben Sulayem regime, saying the governance processes are “becoming ever more opaque and concentrating power in the hands of the president alone”.
Rumours are now beginning to emerge that the Briton could run for FIA president late this year.
“World Motor Sport Council meetings are usually confidential,” former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland, “so I don’t think that incident was just about that.
“There have been a lot of changes in the FIA,” the German added. “I don’t know if it’s a cultural battle – are they really trying to break through outdated structures, or is Richards exaggerating?
“Hopefully it will all be cleared up soon,” Schumacher said. “There is an election coming up and I know David Richards is a popular candidate. Ben Sulayem probably wanted to get rid of him so he wouldn’t have to fight him for the seat.”
