(Paris) The president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, will distance himself from Formula 1, a decision planned for a long time, assured Wednesday the FIA, which however intervenes in a period of tension.
According to the specialized press, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has sent a letter to the F1 teams in which he announces that he will withdraw from the daily management of the premier category of motorsport, information confirmed to AFP on Wednesday by an FIA spokesperson. .
This project, continued the spokesman, he had “clearly stated before his election” to the presidency of the FIA in a manifesto where he undertook to provide the FIA with a post of general manager, attributed to the American Natalie Robyn, and to implement “a revised governance framework [sous] leading a team focused on transparency, democracy and growth”.
Last month, the FIA unveiled the new structure of its single-seater department, headed by Nikolas Tombazis, who will now be entrusted with the day-to-day management of F1-related operations.
The announcement, however, comes as tension reigns between the FIA and Formula One, the F1 promotion company owned by the American group Liberty Media. At issue: a series of remarks and controversies involving Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
At the end of January, the head of the FIA thus posted a series of tweets commenting on an article by the Bloomberg agency according to which the Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF) has submitted an offer (rejected by Liberty Media) of more than 20 billion dollars for buy back F1. Mohammed Ben Sulayem considered this amount “exaggerated”.
According to several media, F1 and Liberty Media recalled in a letter from their legal department addressed to the FIA that the federation “has unequivocally undertaken not to do anything to harm the property, management and/or exploitation of these rights.
“These comments, from the FIA President’s official social media account, interfere with these rights in an unacceptable way,” the letter continued.
Another point of contention, the FIA recently banned, in the name of the principle of neutrality, “statements” and other political “comments”, in particular from drivers, without its agreement.
Again, this decision caused a reaction. “F1 will never gag anyone,” assured F1 boss Stefano Domenicali in an interview published Tuesday by the British daily The Guardian.