Surprise! Ashley here, or you might know me as AshVandelay –
I have the absolute honor of filling in as the guest editor of the Race Week Recap for a few weeks while Jeppe touches grass – who knew he had a life outside of motorsport?!
Top Story of the Week: FIA President Proposes Changes to Governing Body
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants us to talk about how the driver swearing penalties were “rolled back” as a result of an “extensive review” combined with his experiences as a rally driver. However we aren’t going to let the smoke screen of him creating the problem, then partially fixing it, overshadow the following.
BBC Sport has seen a confidential document containing proposed changes to the statutes of the FIA, which are set to be voted on at a meeting of the FIA General Assembly next month. Ben Sulayem is proposing changes that seem to further extend his control.
It begins with “questions of integrity.” BBC Sport stated the most controversial proposal is one that there “must not be anything in the record of the candidates standing for the election as members of the presidential list that calls into question their professional integrity”.
On the surface level this proposal sounds like a no brainer. Of course anyone would want to make sure candidates for FIA president have no skeletons buried in closet or two.
On a deeper level, the candidates for FIA president are monitored by the FIA’s nominations committee. Should the committee find any ethical issues, the matter is referred to the FIA’s ethics committee.
Currently Ben Sulayem, in addition to one of his close allies, president of the FIA senate Carmelo Sanz De Barros, oversee FIA ethics complaints.
“I’ve investigated all persons running against me and coincidentally, they are all unethical.”
Another proposed change is to the nomination of members to the FIA senate. Currently the senate has 16 members, 12 of which are defined in the statutes, and four that are “proposed” by the president and then “confirmed by” the other 12 members.
Ben Sulayem is proposing that the president (reminder: that would be him) should “appoint” the final four members with no oversight from the other 12 members.
There are additional proposed changes journalist Andrew Benson outlines in his article in addition to off-the-record comments from critics, which would make Chancellor Palpatine proud.
See you next time for Part III: Revenge of Sith. I call dibs on being R2-D2.
The Rest of the Stories This Week:
- FIA Revises Driver Swearing Penalties After All
- GREATEST RACES: Celebrating 25 best races across F1’s 75 years of history
- Carlos Sainz Sr Considering Run for FIA President
- Oliver Oakes Resigned as Alpine Team Principal Days After Brother Charged with “Transferring Criminal Property”
- Max Verstappen Goes Undercover to Take Part in Ferrari GT3 Test
- Newey: More Room for Innovations than Expected in “Scary” F1 2026 Rules
- Record Entry Pulls Out WRC2 Big Guns in Portugal
- Johann Zarco Wins French Grand Prix and Breaks Record at Le Mans
- Why Martin vs Aprilia Conflict Will Have No Easy Resolution
- Jimmie Johnson to Drive Two-Seater at Indy 500 with NFL Legend Tom Brady
- INDYCAR on Fox Shifts Start Times for Five Races to Avoid Conflicts
- Bumper 76-Car Entry List of 24H Spa Revealed
- Final Le Mans Lineups Confirmed in Updated Entry List
Thanks for letting me join in on the fun here. And remember to support local, including race tracks!
