FIA governing body barred key figures from FIA meeting amid Mohammed Ben Sulayem dispute

A meeting of the FIA’s world motorsport council was held on Wednesday but a number of members of the organisation were banned from attending amid a row with Mohammed Ben Sulayem

FIA chiefs were BANNED from a meeting of the world motorsport council amid an ongoing row with president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

A meeting was held among key figures of F1’s governing body on Wednesday. It was intended to go over decisions made by the council regarding rules for the forthcoming campaign.

The most high-profile of those was expected to be the adoption of mandatory two pitstops during the Monaco Grand Prix. FIA statuets dictate that all members of the council “may attend any meeting” and “have the right to vote”.

But it appears that some members were prevented from having that right. According to the BBC, Robert Reid, the FIA’s deputy president for sport, and David Richards, the UK’s representative, were both prevented from entering the meeting.

It is suggested that their banishment revolves around a row involving a non-disclosure agreement. President Ben Sulayem has requested members sign the document in an effort to prevent leaks to the media.

Members were already bound by a document of that kind, albeit Ben Sulayem was keen to make it even stricter. It is suggested that legal letters have already been exchanged.

An FIA spokesperson said: “As is routine in all organisations, including the BBC, the FIA implements procedures including non-disclosure agreements to ensure confidential relationships between all parties, to safeguard personal information, and to protect our regulatory interests.

“Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information undermines our ability to fully fulfil our mission and adversely impacts our capabilities to generate revenues to support our member clubs in our shared objective of growing motorsport participation, increasing accessibility, and cultivating innovation.

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“The steps we have taken to preserve confidentiality have been overwhelmingly supported by a super majority of WMSC members.”

It is suggested that FIA insiders believe that Ben Sulayem’s attempts to silence members could be founded in concerns that negative stories could appear into the media. Another reason could be that he is planning further changes to the statutes that would make it hard for anyone to rival him for the presidency.

Ben Sulayem has been president since December 2021, with Reid a key member of his team. Richards has also been a public backer of the Emirati, albeit opposed statute changes introduced last year.

He is re-running for election in December this year and no one has yet put themselves forward to stand against him.

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