The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Formula One Management (FOM) has reached a peace agreement in order to soften the internal turmoil between Formula 1 and its governing body and further work to strengthen their partnership.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the FIA and FOM have announced they are working on a strategic plan to benefit F1.
“The FIA Formula 1 World Championship has never been so strong and is growing globally and the FIA and Formula 1 are committed to delivering the best outcomes for the whole sport.
“To that end, both parties are developing a new strategic plan that will allow us to seize the opportunities and further enhance the potential for F1 in the years ahead.”
During the Miami Grand Prix, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem told the Associated Press that his relationship with F1 President Stefano Domenicali “has never been better” and that they’re working on further strengthening that alliance.
The infighting between F1 and its governing body has been in question after Ben Sulayem was elected after the controversial season finale at Abu Dhabi back in 2021. The issues have ranged from a ban on drivers wearing jewelry inside the car, banning explicit political statements, or FOM’s belief that Ben Sulayem hurt the series’ financial potential after publicly questioning its overall valuation, to the accusations of interference by Ben Sulayem, however he was cleared by the FIA ethics committee of any wrongdoing.
However, the standout issue is the conflict between whether or not Andretti/General Motors should be on the F1 grid with two Cadillac-powered cars. FIA President Ben Sulayem not only opening their inclusion in the grid, but openly supporting it as well.
However this application was rejected by FOM. The company, along with the 10 current teams of the grid have been outspoken of keeping the grid only to 10 teams and 20 drivers to not dilute the financial pot. It also questioned Andretti of whether or not they will be competitive enough on the top level of motorsport.
Andretti’s case wasn’t mentioned in the joint statement. However Andretti did meet with top officials of the FIA and FOM during the Miami Grand Prix.
