“If somebody needs me to win, they only need to say the flawed phrases to me: ‘You’ll be able to’t do it.’ As quickly as I hear that, I’ll do the whole lot to win.”
These are the phrases of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in an interview with GP Racing journal final yr they usually sum up his urge for food for a combat. The declaration letter of assist for his presidency signed by 36 car golf equipment, plus Fabiana Ecclestone as FIA vice chairman for Sport – South America, from internationally is nothing lower than a pre-emptive strike in opposition to Carlos Sainz Sr, who lately introduced he was contemplating a bid to problem Ben Sulayem on the subsequent election this December.
Making a run for the FIA presidency is a mathematical problem in addition to a political one. Every potential candidate should additionally draw up a so-called ‘listing’ of confirmed supporters to run on their ticket.
So, the aspiring presidential candidate will need to have on their ‘listing’ a deputy president and 7 vice-presidents for sport, and a deputy president for car, mobility and tourism. Of the vice presidents, there should be two from Europe and one every from Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America, South America, and the Center-East and North Africa areas.
This ensures any potential presidential candidate should show world assist earlier than they’ll stand for election. However the FIA statutes demand members should declare themselves for only one candidate (they can not seem on multiple ‘listing’).
An incumbent president can subsequently block challengers by gaining the entire assist of only one area. It has occurred earlier than: when David Ward known as off his problem to Jean Todt in 2013, he did so as a result of 11 of the 12 North American auto golf equipment had already pledged assist to Todt.
This seems to be Ben Sulayem’s gameplan now. It could be counter-intuitive to those that exist within the Method 1 ‘bubble’, however F1 is under no circumstances the FIA’s sole focus – in truth it’s a comparatively small, if disproportionately distinguished, space of the enterprise.
Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photographs through Getty Photographs
When Ben Sulayem final ran for president in 2021, he was unopposed. However that was as a result of he already had the numbers on his facet.
“If you happen to ask me if I used to be assured that I used to be going to be president of the FIA, I’ll say sure,” he mentioned in that GP Racing interview. “Sure, I used to be. It’s not ego. Work and be good. And comply with up. I see issues that perhaps different folks don’t see.
“I keep in mind throughout my marketing campaign they have been telling me all about this social media: ‘Oh, we are able to get you this and that variety of followers.’ I mentioned I’ve 235 golf equipment and associations and half of them are supporting me. There are 120 left. So why do I want the tens of millions on social media? Simply concentrate on the 120 left. If I get even 50 of them, I’ll have gained.”
It’s extremely uncommon for a sitting FIA president to be challenged come re-election time. When Max Mosley changed Jean-Marie Balestre in 1993, Mosley was already the president of FISA (the FIA’s sporting arm, then separate) and had been so for 2 years; he persuaded Balestre to step apart and settle for the function of chairman of the yet-to-be-formed FIA Senate.
Mosley’s technique of providing to do the job free of charge and stand for re-election a yr later swung the numbers in the direction of him and his solely challenger, Royal Car Membership vice-president Jeffrey Rose, withdrew earlier than a vote was forged. Mosley was re-elected unopposed for 4 phrases; after he stepped down in 2009, Jean Todt defeated Ari Vatanen for the presidency.
In Todt’s re-election yr Ward got here out in opposition to him however then withdrew, complaining that Todt had moved the goalposts by way of what number of regional vice presidents have been required to assist his candidacy.
There are those that recommend that additional adjustments to the FIA statutes, to be voted on on the Basic Meeting subsequent month, characterize one other step in the direction of strengthening the incumbent’s place.
Robert Reid, FIA
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Photographs
Ben Sulayem’s regime has been polarising in some regards. When Robert Reid resigned from his deputy president for sport function in March, he highlighted what he noticed as a deterioration of open and clear governance, and a transfer in the direction of centralisation of govt energy beneath the president.
This isn’t what Ben Sulayem promised in his marketing campaign manifesto: certainly, the declared intention was for him to be a hands-off president who would appoint a CEO to run the FIA’s enterprise, together with motor racing, alongside the strains of correct company governance.
On this context it’s attention-grabbing to notice that the assist letter from the auto golf equipment thanks the president for delivering on his manifesto – and does so in its first paragraph. The next passage can be unequivocal: “We’re all aware of the catastrophic monetary state of affairs you inherited. With out the decisive and daring actions you took from day one, the very way forward for the FIA would have been in danger.”
This assertion is slightly much less open to debate. The FIA’s monetary place has been precarious, and it’s troublesome to look past Mosley’s ‘lengthy lease’ of the Method 1 business rights to Bernie Ecclestone for a pittance within the early 2000s because the strangling of a possible earnings stream.
The document $100million effective levied in opposition to McLaren after the ‘Spygate’ scandal in 2007 despatched to the FIA Basis, a separate entity.
Todt put nice vitality into enhancing the governing physique’s monetary place however when Ben Sulayem took over as president, the FIA was working at a double-digit monetary loss; it has lately reported an working revenue of €4.7million. It’s attention-grabbing to notice that Ben Sulayem has additionally given an interview lately through which he highlights how way more earnings individuals in F1 are ready to attract than the FIA and its workers.
The context and timing of this, forward of the assist letter from member golf equipment, point out Ben Sulayem’s line of assault can be primarily based on numbers slightly than phrases. And as his earlier electioneering success demonstrates, you possibly can discuss as a lot as you need about lofty ideas and company governance, however these are simply phrases.
Whereas you possibly can’t argue with numbers.
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