Radical reforms suggested by Ben Sulayem to secure leadership role

The FIA ​​president has proposed major rule changes to further consolidate his power, according to reports.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reportedly proposed a series of major changes to the FIA's rules, which could allow him to further strengthen his influence.

The FIA ​​president, who is due to seek re-election later this year, is seeking to push back the deadline for candidates to file for the election, which would give him the chance to prevent others running against him while also giving him more control over the FIA ​​Senate, BBC Sport reported.

The BBC reports that one of the members in the draft proposal says that "there must be nothing in the file of candidates for FIA presidential list members that would call into question their professional integrity".

It is claimed that the purpose of this provision is to bring the position of president into line with other positions in the FIA ​​that already require similar vetting, but also that the nominations committee is currently already vetting presidential candidates and their teams for potential conflicts of interest, with any suspected cases being referred to the ethics committee.

If adopted, this rule could make it more difficult for Carlos Sainz Sr. to run, given the apparent conflict of interest as his son, Carlos Sainz Jr., drives in Formula 1 for Williams.

Further proposed changes

As for the election timeframe, the FIA ​​president is said to want to extend the application period from 21 to 49 days, ostensibly to ensure that candidates and their teams pass all the necessary checks.

Under the rules, candidates for Senate President, Vice President for Sport and Mobility and Regional Vice Presidents must be nominated in advance, and critics fear that this change would simply give the nominations committee more time to find reasons to reject candidates or members of their 11th team.

The BBC also reports that Ben Sulayem wants to change the composition of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), the body that officially implements rule changes in F1 and other FIA championships.

It is said to want to ensure that among the seven vice-presidents and 14 elected members there are no more than “two members of the same nationality”, which one critic sees as an attempt by the FIA ​​president to “fill the WMSC with people of his choosing”.

It is also claimed that changes have been proposed to the ethics committee, including aligning its four-year term with the term of the president.

All these changes come after Carlos Sr. announced that he is seriously considering running for the FIA ​​presidency, which is widely seen as a potential successor to Ben Sulayem.