‘Red Bull and Mercedes were in line,’ FIA President offers interesting update from commission meeting

‘Red Bull and Mercedes were in line,’ FIA President offers interesting update from commission meeting

Mohammed Ben Sulayem

The F1 commission meeting was held on 14 February, Monday comprising of all 10 teams, FIA and the commercial right holder FOM. The newly-elected president for the governing body FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed discussions of the meeting.

With the Abu Dhabi topic being the centre of discussion in the presence of both the team principles, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, Ben Sulayem revealed afterwards that the talks had been harmonious despite the controversy. “They [Red Bull and Mercedes] were in line,” said Sulayem.

Adding a bit of humour to ease the tension, Ben Sulayem said that “I think it’s because of Valentine’s Day! They were close to each other and they were in a good mood, so that was good. I expected more entertainment, but it was good to see the harmony between them.”

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Moving onto other discussions, Ben Sulayem promises “structural changes” with concrete changes yet to happen in the FIA’s governance or race adjudication in the near future.

Also Read: Nicholas Latifi reveals getting messages of support from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes after controversial Abu Dhabi GP finale

Mercedes and Red Bull agreed on certain things: FIA President

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff
Christian Horner and Toto Wolff

The FIA recently confirmed the formation of a working group to select a CEO, a newly created position, as well as the hiring of a third-party consultant to conduct an analysis of the body’s current governance structure alongside the clarification of the future of Michael Masi, FIA race director whose decision making has proved to be the catalyst for the controversial end to the 2021 season.

“We agreed [on] certain things,” said Sulayem after Mercedes had agreed to drop their appeals in light of FIA’s pledge for their overall governance alongside in-depth analysis of the race. The parties have seemingly come to an agreement with a “good decision” to be announced soon.

Talking about the unfortunate event, Sulayem says, “The analysis is still going on, but it will come soon. But it was a good discussion there, so we will see. Information will be announced but, definitely, as we said, the integrity of the FIA will always be intact.

“I’m elected to do that, but also to have a fair motorsport – that is my duty. It was a very good meeting. We went through a lot of important things for the season, so I expect a good Formula 1 season. We can only go forward. This is important for the FIA, for the integrity of the FIA and for the sport. So, we can only improve the future.”

The report with final remarks and official statements will be published over the Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend before the 2022 Formula One season officially kicks off.

Also read: ‘It’s up to me to show my skills in Formula 1,”…