It appears that current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is trying to extend his control over Formula 1’s governing body. According to a confidential document seen by the BBC, the Emirati has proposed some changes to the FIA statutes.
The proposed changes are to be voted on during the next FIA General Assembly. They seem to be aimed to increase Ben Sulayem’s power over the FIA.
An unnamed critic said: “Most proposals aim at some sort of consolidation of power, more centralised control and trying to eliminate independent checks and balances.”
According to another the proposals were “very cleverly written”.
“It’s taking a very moral high ground,” they added. “Or it’s appearing to. Whereas the reality of it is probably less so.”
It’s not the first time Ben Sulayem wants to adjust the FIA statutes. He did so last year, which resulted in a “worrisome concentration of power” according to one of the FIA’s member clubs.
Deadline for candidates brought forward
Among the changes are a proposal to bring forward the deadline for candidates for the presidential elections. These elections are planned to held coming December. This change could be used to prevent anyone from running against Ben Sulayem. One of them would be Carlos Sainz Sr, who recently expressed interest.
The document proposes to bring forward the deadline for candidates declaring their teams. This currently is 21 days before the election, and would become 49 days before the election. The FIA rules require candidates to have their teams chosen and submitted before the election. Such a team consists of the president of the senate, deputy presidents for sport and mobility and seven vice-presidents for sport from all the FIA’s regions
The current deadline “leaves the nominations committee with very little time to check the eligibility of the 11 candidates (for a presidential team) proposed in a given list”, according to the proposal. Critics claim that this could be used to buy the nominations committee time to find reasons to refuse a candidate.
Possible conflict of interest for Sainz Sr.
Another proposal added states there “must not be anything in the record of the candidates standing for the election as members of the presidential list that calls into question their professional integrity”. It is currently missing from the statutes and internal regulations, and thus should be added “for the sake of consistency”.
The aforementioned criterion could be used to bar Sainz Sr. from entering. Being the father of current Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr, this could be seen as a conflict of interest.
Changes to the senate
Ben Sulayem also looks to change some of the checks and balances in place. One such thing is the composition of the FIA senate.
There are 16 members in the senate, 12 of which the statutes define as representatives of the president, his team and members of the two world councils. The remaining four are currently “proposed” by the president, but Ben Sulayem looks to “appoint” them.
This would reduce the influence of the senate, but is proposed because it would allow for “more flexibility in having the expertise required for the many and varied topics it has to deal with and which may require an urgent decision”. However, article 18.4 of the statutes already allows the senate to “invite other members to join in the study of specific questions”.
This prompted one source to state that this proposal is “so clearly poorer governance that the boldness is surprising”.
“It’s a convenient way of dressing up a way where ‘I can potentially get rid of these people when it suits me,'” another critic added.
More FIA parts under fire
The document also proposes to align the terms of the audit, ethics and nomination committees with that of the president. This would “ensure consistency between terms of office and group these elections together”.
And while this “seems efficient” according to a critic, it also gives “fewer options for dissent outside of a presidential cycle”.
It is hardly surprising that Ben Sulayem targets these FIA committees. Last year he sacked the heads of the audit and ethics committees. Both were involved in investigations into him and his office.
The World Motorsport Council is also targeted by the FIA president. He proposes “no more than two members of the same nationality among the seven vice-presidents and the 14 elected WMSC members”. Reason cited is “flexibility”, but critics feel he just wants to “stack the WMSC with the people he wants”.
