Ben Sulayem ‘re-elected’ as FIA president – without a contest

In what could be described as democracy on autopilot, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been re-elected as president of the FIA – and, as fate (and procedural quirks) would have it, he was the only candidate on the grid.

The election took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, just ahead of Friday’s 2025 prize-giving ceremony, and resulted in a second four-year term for the Emirati, who first took the wheel of the FIA presidency in 2021.

While the 64-year-old initially had competitors lined up – former FIA steward Tim Mayer, racing driver Laura Villars, and influencer-model Virginie Philippot – all were eliminated before the vote could even hit the podium.

Why? Because FIA rules require each candidate to assemble a team of seven vice-presidents representing the organization’s six global regions. Only Fabiana Ecclestone from South America ended up backing Ben Sulayem, leaving the others stranded at the starting line.

Democracy, but Make It Optional

Tim Mayer slammed the process as an “illusion of democracy,” suggesting some eligible vice-presidents may have been “persuaded, pressured, or promised something not to stand.”

Villars went one step further, suing the FIA over the arguably undemocratic setup. A Paris court has scheduled a full trial for 16 February, meaning today’s re-election could still be nullified.

Meanwhile, the FIA, never shy about phrasing things positively, insisted in a press release that “The election was conducted in line with the FIA’s statutes through a robust and transparent voting process, reflecting the democratic foundations of the federation and the collective voice of its global membership.”

Ben Sulayem’s Predictably Gracious Acceptance

For his part, Ben Sulayem accepted the result with the expected mix of gratitude and gravitas.

“Thank you to all our FIA Members for voting in remarkable numbers and placing your trust in me once again,” he said. “We have overcome many obstacles but here today, together, we are stronger than ever.

"It is truly an honour to be FIA president, and I am committed to continuing to deliver for the FIA, for motorsport, for mobility, and for our Member Clubs in every region around the world."

• Read also: Paris court sends Villars-FIA election dispute to full trial

Even with the absence of a competitive field, the president managed to check all the boxes: gracious, committed, and emphatically global in his scope. And yet, with only a single candidate on the ballot, one can’t help but note the unsurprising efficiency of the result – democracy, in this case, was certainly streamlined.

As the FIA barrels into its next four years under Ben Sulayem, the debate over governance, transparency, and how truly contested elections are may continue to ripple – but today, at least, the outcome was as predictable as a safety car on a wet Sunday in Monaco.

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