‘Not acceptable’: Ben Sulayem won’t let Alonso retire in misery

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Formula 1 is rarely short on paddock political theater, but FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem may have just raised the bar for regulatory paternalism.

Faced with the prospect of Fernando Alonso walking away from the sport amidst Aston Martin’s severe performance slump, Ben Sulayem has declared that he simply won't permit the Spanish legend to retire under such miserable circumstances – as if a governing body chief can simply veto a two-time world champion's personal career choices.

Speaking on Friday at the New Economy Forum in Madrid – just ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix—the FIA boss stepped into the role of high-stakes career counselor, insisting it is unacceptable for Alonso to bid farewell simply because his machinery is woefully uncompetitive.

His public intervention came less than 24 hours after Alonso suggested that there would be no news any time soon on his F1 future beyond his current Aston Martin contract, which expires at the end of the season.

Intriguingly, Ben Sulayem’s crusade seems to suggest that Alonso has already mentally checked out – a reality the FIA president appears desperately eager to reverse.

“There is no way we can allow Fernando Alonso, a great champion, to leave, just because of the circumstances,” Ben Sulayem declared, treating Alonso’s potential retirement not as a personal right, but as a bureaucratic failure.

“That’s not the way to leave the stage. He has to be successful and then he leaves whenever he wants, not because he was forced to leave with the performance.”

Regulatory intervention or unsolicited micromanagement?

How exactly does the head of motorsport’s governing body propose to save a veteran driver from a struggling car? Apparently, by meddling directly with the team.

Ben Sulayem divulged that he has already held private discussions with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll, though his explanation of how the FIA intends to magically engineer mid-grid salvation remains delightfully opaque.

“I share the issues, the car is not performing,” Ben Sulayem continued, taking ownership of Aston Martin's competitive woes.

“I met with the owner Lawrence [Stroll] yesterday and I am going to do the changes and I will talk to him [Alonso] to try to make him change his mind. It’s not acceptable.”

In Ben Sulayem's eyes, the sight of Spain's ultimate racing icon languishing near the back of the grid on home soil is a tragedy that demands official governance intervention.

“I saw him very sad and I said ‘Fernando, I understand. It’s not acceptable that you are coming to your own country as a two times world champion and you are at the last,” Ben Sulayem lamented.

Seeking wisdom from the cockpit

In a twist that borders on the bizarre, the FIA chief suggested that the rule-makers had already taken steps behind the scenes to throw Aston Martin a lifeline – and were now waiting on Alonso himself to dictate technical policy.

“We did something earlier in May, legally, for the team, towards the engine, to go and improve,” Ben Sulayem asserted, raising more than a few eyebrows regarding the neutral role of the sport's referee.

“Then I said to him ‘I’m not going to tell you what we are going to do. Please tell me what you want because you are the driver - tell me what do you want us to do to improve these results’.”

Concluding his remarkable address, Ben Sulayem hinted at a frenzy of late-night lobbying aimed at keeping the veteran on the grid.

“Suddenly you see everything change and then I get a call and then I had a meeting yesterday. We are here also to support,” he concluded.

Whether Alonso actually wants the FIA president playing chief mechanical savior remains to be seen.

But as the paddock settles in for the weekend, Ben Sulayem has made one thing clear: if Alonso leaves Formula 1, he will have to break through the president's personal barricade to do so.

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Michael Delaney