Ex-F1 steward Tim Mayer has officially announced that he is running for FIA president at a press conference today near Silverstone, the home of the British GP this weekend.
The next presidential election of motorsport’s global governing body will take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 12th December.
With Carlos Sainz Sr. dropping out of the presidential race last month, Mayer currently stands as the sole rival of incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem in this year’s election cycle.
Presidential campaign regulations stipulate that candidates furnish a full team of officials to occupy various positions in their prospective administration before the FIA permits them to contend. As it stands, the FIA’s nominations committee, which answers to the FIA president, will review Mayer’s right to contest and his proposed team.
Who is Tim Mayer?
Tim Mayer, who the current FIA president fired as a steward last year, is the son of McLaren co-founder and former team principal Teddy Mayer. As a leading motorsport organiser and official, he has held prominent positions in the US-based Champ Car, IMSA, and the American Le Mans series.
The American’s wide range of accomplishments also include stewarding responsibilities across many of the FIA’s world championships as well as teaching and working on multiple commissions.
Before his departure, Mayer had served as an F1 steward for over 15 years. He was one of the most well-respected members of the rotating stewarding panels that help officiate Grand Prix events.
What led to Mayer’s firing?
In an interview with BBC Sport in November, 2024, Tim Mayer claimed that he had lost his job via a text message from one of Ben Sulayem’s assistants.
The American found himself in the crosshairs of a dispute between the FIA and US GP organisers last year, where he was working as a representative for US Race Management in an independent capacity.
Mayer was part of the initial stewards’ hearing that criticised and sanctioned the Austin organisers for fans invading the track at the end of the race. He then represented the organisers in a ‘right of review’ hearing, as they called into question the original verdict.
The 59-year-old, who was participating in the appeal as sporting organiser of the three Grands Prix in the USA, remarked that his involvement in the appeal prompted his removal from the stewards’ panel at the 2024 Brazilian GP, before his eventual firing as a 2025 F1 steward.
Mayer also maintained that Ben Sulayem spearheaded his dismissal since he “took offence” at the contents of the appeal document the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) had filed.
Ben Sulayem and his contentious first term
Ben Sulayem’s tenure as FIA president, which started in December 2021, has been swamped in controversies. Despite his strife with drivers and stakeholders and the numerous high-profile departures that have marred his first term, the Emirati declared his bid for a second term in May.
Tim Mayer was one on a long list of senior officials who the FIA has axed in the past 18 months. At the time of his dismissal, he was one of four officials who departed within a two-week period, with former F1 race director Niels Wittich stepping down ahead of the 2024 Las Vegas GP.
The FIA’s ethics committee also investigated Ben Sulayem earlier this year following two whistleblower complaints that presented grave allegations of sporting interference. It ultimately cleared the 63-year-old of any wrongdoing.
Furthermore, the FIA General Assembly approved several controversial changes to the statutes of motorsport’s top governing body at their meeting in Macau last month.
The deadline for candidates to declare their bid for the presidential election in December has been brought forward. Additional revisions include limiting the power of the ethics committee, the eradication of the post of compliance officer, and centralising decision-making power with the FIA president and president of the senate.
What’s at stake?
However, the most controversial clause in the context of the upcoming FIA election mandates that candidates contesting as members of the presidential list must have no record that could call their “professional integrity” into question.
The FIA’s nominations committee strictly monitors the list of presidential candidates and their teams. If a list generates any concerns from an ethical perspective, it would refer the matter to the ethics committee. Unfortunately, the FIA president and his allies have considerable control over both bodies, following amendments to the regulations Ben Sulayem introduced last year.
With the aforementioned changes appearing to further extend the Emirati’s control and erode accountability at the FIA, it was imperative that he didn’t run unopposed in his campaign for re-election this December.
However, it remains to be seen whether Tim Mayer can get his candidacy successfully approved and emerge as a worthy challenger in this head-to-head battle for the FIA presidency!
