FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is now expected to stand for re-election without opposition after his main challenger, Tim Mayer, announced his withdrawal from the race. Mayer, who launched his candidacy during the British Grand Prix weekend and promised to challenge Ben Sulayem’s leadership, has been unable to gather sufficient support to assemble a qualifying presidential team.
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Key points from the situation:
- FIA election rules require candidates to submit a comprehensive presidential list, including nominees for key positions (president of the senate, deputy presidents for both sport and automobile mobility/tourism, and seven vice-presidents for sport—all from different global regions and vetted by the World Motor Sport Council).
- Only 29 candidates are approved for these vice-president roles, and strict regulations prevent any candidate from appearing on more than one list.
- The bottleneck has emerged because just one South American candidate—Brazil’s Fabiana Ecclestone—is eligible, and she is believed to be backing Ben Sulayem. This makes it impossible for other would-be challengers to meet the regional requirements.
- Other potential rivals, Laura Villars and Virginie Philipott, have also seen their paths to candidacy blocked by the same nomination restrictions.
- Mayer’s campaign ended with criticism of the FIA’s process and structure during his press conference.
With the window closing for nominations (October 24th deadline), and no clear pathway for challengers to submit a qualifying team, Ben Sulayem is set for an uncontested re-election.
