FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem hits out at FIA criticism as he states racing must be able to continue without a race director.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem discusses bringing in new stewards to Formula 1. Speaking during the Stewards Summit in Madrid, Sulayem suggested Formula 1 is over reliant on the race director.
As the FIA aims to bolster stewarding in the sport amidst growing complaints from fans and teams alike, he stated racing must be able to continue in the event the race director is not present, hinting at multiple options in the future.
“Who and how many? That’s a question we’ll know the answer to soon, in the coming days. But there will definitely be fresh blood, and there will be more than one. That’s for sure. There has been people learning, people working behind the scenes all the time, because you can’t just drop someone into this huge challenge.
“And then, you know, the teams may complain, the drivers may complain, but then they don’t want to pay for it. I’m being very, very honest and direct with you — this requires a lot of investment. It has taken us more than two and a half years to get to where we are now. Do we have the results? We’ll know the results when the season starts.”
“What would happen if the race director decided not to go or got sick?” Ben Sulayem asked. “It’s the same with the FIA. If something happens to me tomorrow, the FIA will keep running without me, so this has to be a system. It’s not about individuals.”
In order to implement a system as suggested by Ben Sulayem, the FIA have heavily invested in stewarding. Ben Sulayem claims the latest developments have taken over 2 years to implement.
“This requires a lot of investment.” He said. “It has taken us more than two and a half years to get to where we are now. Do we have the results? We’ll know the results when the season starts.”
With changes forthcoming for the 2025 Formula 1 season, Ben Sulayem hit back at critics of the FIA. He called attention to critics who lay blame firmly with the FIA without offering any potential solutions.
“Mistakes happen, you know, and then you blame the FIA. It’s easy to blame the FIA. Why can’t you be productive in your criticism and say, ‘How can we find a solution?’
“But where is the solution? The solution is in training, the solution is in bringing people in.”
The FIA president continued to comment on ‘diversity quotas’. He states that people have been recruited based on merit and talent rather than background. He went on to suggest that hiring based on other factors would not allow the FIA to deliver on their promises.
“Is it about diversity?” Ben Sulayem continued. “No. We talk about diversity, and then… sorry, but you know, they say, ‘You bring this person from this country, or this woman, or something like that.’ That’s an insult.
“We don’t have women because we need to meet a 30 percent quota—we accept women based on their merit and credibility because they are good. We hire non-European people from other countries because they are good, they are trained, and they have the passion for competition. Not because, oh, I need to have this color, this religion.
“If you do that, you won’t have a strong FIA—you’ll have a weak one because you won’t deliver what you promise. For us, it’s a big challenge.”
Co-author: Fernanda Álvarez
