PARIS (AP) — Mohammed Ben Sulayem is on course to be re-elected unopposed as president of motor racing's governing body the FIA, which oversees Formula 1, after a list of candidates for other posts indicated that his would-be challengers would not be able assemble the team needed for a campaign.
FIA presidential candidates must submit a list including seven vice-presidential candidates from various regions of the world.
That must include a candidate from South America, but the only South American on a list of 29 eligible candidates on the FIA website is Fabiana Ecclestone of Brazil.
Ben Sulayem has previously posted on social media that Ecclestone, wife of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, is part of his presidential list.
The rules bar the same person from being part of the team of more than one candidate and the FIA says the list of 29 eligible candidates is final.
The entry deadline for would-be FIA presidents is Oct. 24 but the lack of eligible South American officials suggests no-one other than Ben Sulayem could now form a valid list of vice-presidents.
In that case, Ben Sulayem would be confirmed for a second four-year term in office when the FIA general assembly meets in Uzbekistan in December.
Ben Sulayem has headed the FIA since 2021 and has had high-profile disagreements with some F1 drivers over his opposition to swearing — the FIA later backed down and reduced its fines — and a large number of staff leaving the governing body.
Declared opponents to Ben Sulayem include Tim Mayer, an American ex-F1 race steward who accused Ben Sulayem of failing to deliver on promises and pushing out staff who disagreed with him. Swiss racing driver Laura Villars and Belgian journalist Virginie Philipott have both said they were planning to run to become the FIA’s first female president.
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