The relationship between the FIA and Formula 1? I talk to the president every day. People don’t understand the pressure we are under, says Ben Sulayem

A lot has been written about the workings of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and its relationship with the Queen of Motorsport this season. It is this governing body that has been under scrutiny during the 2022 season due to a number of political issues surrounding Formula 1.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as President of the International Automobile Federation, has revealed the state of the relationship between the FIA and Formula One amid speculation of growing tensions between the two stakeholders.

Indeed, it is the FIA, as the governing body of F1, that has been under fire for questions and dealing with several political issues during this season.

The sprint races or the Red Bull saga and its budget ceiling overrun are perfect examples.

However, as Ben Sulayem stated recently, relations between the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM) are said to be at a good level and he reportedly speaks to CEO Stefano Domenicali every day.

Statement by the President of the FIA

“I speak to Stefano every two days and if not, he calls me. That’s the way it goes before any meeting or decision, it’s like a marriage that lasts. I have a very good professional and personal relationship with FOM,” explained Ben Sulayem in an interview with Racing News 365.

Budget caps and sprint races have of course been the biggest issues this season, with the FIA, and Ben Sulayem in particular, being accused at the start of the season of actions that do not benefit F1 itself.

At the time, the teams eventually unanimously agreed and supported the FOM’s proposal with regard to increasing the sprint races to 6 (from 2023 – ed.). However, the FIA still held off on this decision.

Allegedly, there was a split between the FIA and F1, with the FIA subsequently issuing a proposal that it was still evaluating the proposal.

Ben Sulayem denies that such a split has arisen

“People thought that when I made that statement about the additional 3 sprints, there was a split between the FIA and the FOM. That’s where it started. It was on 25 April at the F1 Commission meeting when they suddenly said: OK, we need three more sprint races,” Ben Sulayem continued in that interview.

“That’s fine, but then I have to go back to my team and talk about my workload. And all of a sudden, you see that there’s a division of opinion.

We approved the vote, we studied it, I went back and checked with my whole team. But people don’t understand the pressure they (the staff or FIA officials) are under,” he added.

Finally, Ben Sulayem added that although there were various political issues and doubts during the 2022 season, the relationship between F1 and the FIA has reportedly never been better.

Sources