F1’s owners looking to ‘get rid’ of FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem – Reports

The FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been under fire recently. Now, a report has emerged that F1's owners, Liberty Media, want to 'get rid' of him.

F1’s owners looking to ‘get rid’ of FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem – Reports

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been having a tough week. Plus, it just seems to go from bad to worse. There was already backlash to the FIA ‘stamping its authority’ under him, but it’s increased considerably in a short span of time. The governing body’s ban on unapproved ‘political, religious, or personal’ statements has embroiled them in controversy. But it doesn’t match up to Ben Sulayem’s ‘antics’ on social media.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia (through their sovereign wealth fund) were interested in acquiring Formula 1. However, this deal fell apart as Liberty Media were not interested in selling. The ‘Public Investment Fund’, as it’s called, apparently valued F1 at well over $20 billion. Neither party directly addressed the rumor/matter, but the FIA President did. On Twitter, he expressed the FIA’s ‘cautiousness’ about the ‘alleged inflated’ price tag of $20 billion.

https://youtu.be/w3iZ9Olj-XM

Further, he advised any buyer to exercise ‘common sense’ and come up with a good plan – not just a lot of money. It’s safe to say that this didn’t endear him to Formula 1’s owners, who sent the FIA a letter criticizing his remarks as interfering with the F1 ownership’s right to exploit its commercial rights. Plus, they further stated that his comment on the value of the ‘entity’ risks causing damage to the value of the said entity, ending with: “To the degree that these comments damage the value of Liberty Media Corporation, the FIA may be liable as a result.”

FS Video

According to a report from Sport1, F1’s owners, Liberty Media want to get rid of Ben Sulayem. In addition, they already have a replacement lined up in the form of David Richards, who currently serves as the chairman of Prodrive and Motorsport UK. He has previously served as team principal for BAR and Benetton. But it isn’t going to be easy for them to achieve their current goal – they would have to prove his ‘real misconduct’.

Read More: “Oh they want him GONE GONE,” F1 fans tear into FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem as his old MISOGYNISTIC remarks emerge

Is FIA Chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s job in danger?

Formula 1's owners were not pleased with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem's remarks on Twitter
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem

One thing is apparent: The FIA and F1 are in a power struggle, one that has been going on for quite a while. Now, it’s coming to its climax, so to say. There were reports as far back as last September that F1 (and its teams) were unhappy with the FIA ‘flexing its muscles’. Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been exceedingly vocal this time around, even going as far as to say that the championship belongs to the FIA and that they are just ‘renting it out’.

That is technically true under the 100-year-old lease signed in 2000. From his actions, it’s clear that he and the FIA want a better ‘seat at the table’, and want to have more of a say in the sport’s activities – including a potential sale. But you have to wonder, with the current controversies surrounding Ben Sulayem, will he be able to survive in the job for long?

Recently, President Ben Sulayem’s old misogynistic remarks also emerged. They were uncovered from an archived version of his old website by The Times, with the particular comment being that he dislikes talking “about money, nor do I like women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth”. Apparently, the management knew of these comments as soon as he had taken over, but they emerged only recently. Rather curious timing, and obviously, not great for Mr. Ben Sulayem.

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