FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has recently issued some remarks in stark contrast to the F1 team bosses. The 61-year-old is keen to see more teams compete in F1 and have fewer races on the calendar. While the team principals of the rest of the sides have nothing against having fewer races, they under no circumstances want more outfits to join the sport. Since Ben Sulayem has now made contrasting remarks to the team principals, he has put the FIA at risk of losing their whopping $27,000,000 relationship with the F1 teams, as per expert Joe Saward.
According to us.motorsport.com, the FIA charges all drivers and teams a certain fee to participate in the world championship. The report adds that in 2023, the FIA received $27,000,000 from all the drivers and teams to participate in this year’s championship. Since Ben Sulayem has now issued comments that are unlikely to go down with the team principals, he has put this longstanding relationship at risk.
In a recent interview with wtf1.com, the 61-year-old outlined his vision for F1 by stating, “If you say what is my dream, it is to fill up the 12 [maximum team slots] and to have one U.S. team from an OEM and a power unit and a driver from there driving. And then go to China maybe and ask for the same thing and do it“.
Ben Sulayem has constantly been at odds with F1 teams
According to Joe Saward, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has constantly been at odds with F1 teams because he repeatedly issues contentious remarks. The British journalist notes in his blog that the FIA president “has trouble stopping himself.” The first signs of a rift between the FIA and F1 teams were witnessed in February earlier this year when the 61-year-old attempted to intervene in commercial matters, something that the motorsport governing body is not permitted to do.
A few months later, Saward believes that Ben Sulayem is once again speaking on commercial matters when he says he wants fewer races and more teams. The F1 expert believes that if the FIA president wants to have a good relationship with the F1 teams, then he must keep a low profile like his predecessors.
“It seems to me that history shows that the best way to secure the FIA’s future relationship with F1 is to keep a low profile, do an efficient job and not rock the boat. Jean Todt showed very well how it can be done. He might have been a prickly character, but he was always clever when it came to F1 and won a lot of respect as a result“, explained Saward.
The 62-year-old expert believes that if Ben Sulayem carries on speaking against the interest of the F1 teams, then he may face backlash not only from the sides but also from other members of the FIA itself. After stating the same, Saward explained how “money talks” and how the FIA cannot afford to be at odds with F1.
FIA cannot afford to be at odds with F1
As per Joe Saward, the FIA cannot afford to end its relationship with F1 as the latter provides more than half the revenue of the motorsports governing body. As a result, the F1 expert believes that “money talks.”
The 62-year-old then concluded his remarks by providing examples of other sports, such as golf and soccer, and the issues that they faced. Golf witnessed a longstanding dispute between the PGA and LIV recently, whereas the Premier League were once at odds with the Football Association.
In both instances, Saward believes that one of the two ended up yielding to ensure that their relationship stayed intact. He believes that the FIA may also need to do the same with F1 now.
