FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has teared into the British media, accusing the latter of biased reporting and urging it “stop its nonsense and go back to business”.
After expressing his frustrations with the lack of recognition awarded by Formula 1 to the FIA for its contributions to the sport, insisting the governing body “only gets rubbish”, Ben Sulayem feels that he has himself been unfairly treated by the media since taking the reins of motorsport’s venerable institution in December 2021.
Ben Sulayem’s comments follow recent remarks made by former Red Bull F1 designer Adrian Newey, who expressed on the High Performance podcast that both Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel had been unfairly "demonized" by the British media during their careers.
The FIA president, agreeing with Newey's perspective, shifted the focus to his own experiences with the press.
"I respect Max [Verstappen] because I'm a driver. I was a champion and I respect winners and champions," commented Ben Sulayem in a candid interview with Motorsport.com.
"I see he had his share [of mistreatment], but let's talk about me. If you look at the British media and what they did to me… For God's sake, they convicted me.”
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Ben Sulayem feels that although the media didn’t explicitly accuse him of wrongdoing, their relentless coverage created a hostile narrative.
“They didn't accuse me [of anything], but they keep on [going]. And do I care? No. Why? Because what are they after? They are after selling and getting more coverage for them[selves]. Of course, yes,” he said.
"But they have no power over me and over the FIA.
"With due respect to the British media or any other media, they don't have a vote. We are an independent, democratic federation. It's the world of membership that elected me. The power is with the General Assembly, not with them.”
He called for an end to what he described as "nonsense" from the media, urging them to focus on the sport itself rather than fueling controversy.
"And you know what? Can we just stop this nonsense and go back to business and do what is better for the sport? If you can? I'm asking. If they [the media] don’t want to do that, it’s up to them,” he continued.
"But life goes on. You know what they did to me? They made me stronger. I'm more careful now and more wise.
"And I have the support [of the member clubs]. And if and when the members decide that it’s time to change me as president, it's their call.
"At the end of the day, who put me there? It's the General Assembly, it's the members. I'm very, very clear with this. And if they don't like it, it's up to them.
"But I don't go back to anyone, I don't answer very much of you [members of the media] and I don't retaliate. Why? Because I don't have the time. I'm so busy answering what the members want and what motorsport wants."
Reflecting on his time as president since taking office at the end of 2021, Ben Sulayem expressed confidence that the FIA is in a much better place now than when he first took charge.
"Honestly, 100%," he said. “And there are so many parts [to that]. Internally, now they are efficient. Things move faster when it comes to delivery.
"And we went back to our mission, which is to listen to the members. If you remove the members, there is no FIA. Very simple.
"The FIA is in a better shape, the FIA is healthier. And the [F1] teams also need a strong and healthy FIA because nobody wants to spend [money] in a championship that is not governed."
As he looks to the remainder of his first term, Ben Sulayem is focused on delivering the promises laid out in his manifesto.
"For this year, just to finish and deliver my manifesto. And we are on the right track,” he stated.
"We brought back the FIA in the plus. And that's not by redundancy and removing people, but by generating more income and others being fair with us, and by repositioning and reforming the FIA and going back to our mission.”
Finally, looking ahead to a potential re-election, the 62-year-old Emirati welcomes the idea of competition, reiterating his belief in the FIA’s democratic process.
"And one other thing; if there's anyone who wants to have a [presidential] race with me, [I would be] more than happy,” he declared.
"We talked about democracy. It's democracy all the time, not part of the time. So I'm more than happy [to take it up against somebody else]."
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