AUSTIN, Texas — Prospective FIA presidential candidate Tim Mayer is effectively out of the race, meaning that incumbent president Mohammed Ben Sulayem will run unopposed for leadership of Formula One’s governing body.
Mayer decried the FIA’s election process on Friday, saying “the rules of this election mean that there will be no election” and that his campaign will continue by helping educate member clubs about the process.
“When elections are decided before ballots are cast, that’s not democracy — that’s theater,” the American said. “And when member clubs are left with no real choice, they become spectators, not participants.”
The FIA president is the organization’s leader and public representative, responsible for overseeing all operations, including strategic direction, governance and ultimate approval of the sporting and technical regulations for championships like Formula One. Ben Sulayem has held the post since 2021.
Although the election isn’t until December 12, presidential candidates must submit a list of names to be included on the ballot. This list includes seven vice presidents, each representing a specific region: one for the Middle East and North Africa, one for the rest of Africa, one for North America, one for South America, one for Asia-Pacific, and two for Europe. According to Mayer, these vice presidents must also be involved in an international event on the FIA calendar.
“That sounds inclusive — until you realize what happens when there are no independent candidates to choose from. No credible, alternative options,” he continued. “In South America, only one person stood for the WMSC. In Africa, only two. All three are directly associated with the incumbent.
“The result is simple: no one but the incumbent can run under this FIA system.”
Fabiana Ecclestone, from Brazil, is the only person listed from a South American country, and she has been the FIA Vice President for Sport – South America since December 2021, as part of Ben Sulayem’s administration. Because no other candidates from the South American member clubs are on the list, Ben Sulayem can run effectively unopposed, because a WMSC candidate can’t appear on multiple Presidential Lists.
To attract more candidates from South America, Mayer believes that eliminating the requirement for hosting an international motorsport event would effectively open it up to every country. He added, “If they want to put themselves up, let the members decide who the best representatives for the WMSC are. I would argue that there are countries that are doing great work on grassroots motorsports, that are doing great work on grassroots rallying, or doing great work on open wheel or cross car or whatever, but don’t have an international motorsport event.
“People that have huge experience in organizing events, but are restricted from being on the WMSC.”
Legal and ethical considerations
Laura Villars, another potential FIA presidential candidate, previously confirmed to The Athletic that “formal exchanges are currently ongoing between my legal team and the FIA Administration, as the current electoral procedure raises legitimate concerns of conformity with the FIA statutes.” Additionally, her team obtained “independent legal opinions” that “also confirm that several recent procedural changes are inconsistent with the statutes and must be corrected.”
Mayer and Villars have spoken, but Mayer is opting to go with the internal FIA processes, beginning with the Ethics Committee. He said Friday: “We strongly believe a series of ethics violations have been committed in this election process. And we have now submitted numerous ethics complaints. “
Mayer also said that if the Ethics Committee finds validity in their complaints, the matter is taken to the president of the FIA or the senate president for action.
“The statutes don’t provide for any other method or for any appeal,” he said. “Where is the accountability?”
As part of his news conference on Friday, new research was discussed, conducted by Dr. Arnout Geeraert of Utrecht University, and it reviewed the FIA’s governance “across all four dimensions of the Sports Governance Observer.” It was commissioned by FIA Forward, which Mayer leads, but he said, “It was a closed box to us” after they asked for the review.
Geeraert analyzed the “FIA’s statutes, regulations, policies, reports, and other publicly available materials. Where evidence was unclear or ambiguous, scores were verified with individuals possessing privileged insight into FIA decision-making to ensure reliability.”
The results showed that the FIA’s overall governance score was 45 percent, per the analysis. FIFA scored 61 percent.
The headline of the report is “Power without brakes.” The study acknowledges that the governing body has made some progress, while also pointing out areas that could be reformed. The first sentence of the report’s conclusion states: “This study finds that while the FIA has adopted broad formal features of modern governance, its institutional framework lacks the safeguards needed to prevent the concentration of power and ensure effective policies.”
Geeraert wrote, “The results point to a consistent pattern: the FIA has not institutionalised the mechanisms that distribute authority, enable independent oversight, or ensure meaningful participation.”
The FIA said in a statement on Friday that the election “is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.”
The FIA’s official response
An FIA spokesperson released a statement on Saturday in response to the matter, asserting in part that the election “is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.” The FIA statement said the requirements “are not new” and “applied to previous elections.”
“Prospective candidates have had since the publication of the detailed information on 13 June to prepare their applications,” the spokesperson said.
The FIA spokesperson responded to the Geeraert report by saying that its findings show the FIA’s governance is “in line with other federations” that have formalized their governance structures. “The benchmarking process outlined within the report does not find the FIA to be behind the curve,” the FIA spokesperson said. “This reflects the fact that the FIA has taken several steps to strengthen its corporate governance policies.
“The FIA was not contacted to confirm any of the statements or assumptions made about its processes, policies and administration within the report.”
The impact on Formula One
Formula One is one of several championships governed by the FIA, and the results would have naturally impacted it. The governing body was designed not only to represent the member clubs but also to develop motorsports and mobility worldwide. So what happens when there’s concern about its democratic nature?
“The FIA provides a foundation on which promoters, clubs, or anybody can build their own house. So we provide a foundation which is where Formula One can build its house, and obviously, right now, it is doing it reasonably successfully,” Mayer said. “Without democratic governance, without a strong internal process, that foundation is built on sand. And so it’s very easy for, for instance, a president of the FIA under this system to walk in and say, ‘Let’s just throw out the agreement that says we’re going to have a four-year stable engine and decide we’re going to do something different.’”
So, what’s next?
Ben Sulayem is set to run for the FIA presidency unopposed come December’s election, given the current structure of the process. But as Mayer reiterated numerous times, his campaign is aiming to help educate member clubs.
“Our job now is to help educate the members so that when they go to these general assemblies, they realize, ‘Oh, wait, our vote has consequences. Changing the statutes however the president wants has a consequence,’” he said.
It remains to be seen whether Mayer will run again in four years. When asked about the idea, he said, “You have to ask my wife that question and probably in a couple of years time when we decompress from where we are now.”
“I still have faith — in the clubs, in the volunteers, in people across motorsport and mobility who know that integrity still matters,” Mayer said in his closing remarks. “So, while the rules of this election mean that there will be no election, our cause continues. Because real leadership isn’t just about who holds office; it’s about who holds faith.”