Ben Sulayem set to stand unopposed in FIA election

Incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem is poised to stand unopposed in December’s election for the presidency of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA.

Three potential candidates had expressed an interest in standing – American Tim Mayer, Swiss former racing driver Laura Villars and Belgian journalist Virginie Philpott.

But a quirk of the FIA’s election rules means that no other candidate is able to challenge Ben Sulayem.

Presidential candidates must submit a list of their prospective vice-presidents for sport, which must be selected from each of the FIA’s six global regions.

But the world council list contains only one candidate from South America, Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone, wife of former F1 boss Bernie. She is already a member of Ben Sulayem’s team.

FIA statutes state that the body will “respect the highest standards of governance, transparency and democracy, including anti-corruption functions and procedures”.

FIA rules require it to be neutral in the election process and that it has an obligation to provide “equal treatment between candidates for the FIA’s presidency”.

Mayer declined to comment, while the FIA has not responded to a series of questions from BBC Sport on the matter.

Robert Reid – who resigned as Ben Sulayem’s vice-president of sport in April, citing “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards within motorsport’s global governing body” – wrote earlier this week in a post on LinkedIn: “Each presidential candidate must present a full slate, including seven vice-presidents drawn from list of World Council nominees.

“If the incumbent already controls those names in any region through persuasion, pressure or promise, then no challenger can form.

“The process looks democratic, but in practice it locks the door from the inside. It isn’t democracy. It isn’t even unusual. But that doesn’t make it right.”

There is also doubt surrounding the eligibility of Daniel Coen from Costa Rica for the list of world motorsport council nominees, given that members must come from countries that host international motorsport events, which Costa Rica does not.

In June a new rule was passed that allowed the FIA Senate, which is controlled by Ben Sulayem, to nominate two candidates to the world council.

Critics say this is a means by which Ben Sulayem could unblock himself from standing for election if he was ever unable to meet the requirement for vice-presidential candidates.

The nomination via the Senate route would not be available to non-incumbents.

The development follows a period of controversy surrounding the conduct of Ben Sulayem and his governance of the FIA.

At the last two FIA general assemblies, changes to the statutes have been approved that Austria’s national motoring club, the OAMTC, said risked “further contributing to the erosion of the FIA’s reputation for competent and transparent governance”.

Throughout last year, Ben Sulayem removed a series of senior figures in the FIA after all had raised questions about his conduct or that of his office.