
Current and past FIA stewards, including Tim Mayer who is a public figure, has accused Mohammed Ben Sulayem of meddling with important matters in the FIA and purveying undesirable management strategies. Mayer worked the FIA for 15 years He said that he had been fired via text message which clearly shows that the management of that organization is so scandalous.
Mayer recalled an example of an event during the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in which a penalty of 10 seconds was given to Fernando Alonso but was later withdrawn. Mayer accused Ben Sulayem of this in a round about manner using the staff to make these decisions hence not leaving the stewards independent. However, it took the FIA to clear Ben Sulayem after an internal investigation and questions of governance still persist.
One of the other debated questions concerns sanctions imposed on drivers for the improper use of language. Our drivers such as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have been reprimanded for saying some words that they are not supposed to say under Ben Sulayem’s directives, described by Mayer as unnecessary and excessive.
Mayer thinks that he was fired for his part in appealing a €500,000 fine lodged against the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) due to track incursion. While the appeal was granted, Mayer asserts Ben Sulayem read the same as a provocation to dismissal.
The FIA is likewise facing a string of losing key individuals in the company such as Janette Tan, Niels Wittich, and Natalie Robyn that would give rise to concerns on the capability of the FIA to keep talented workers. Mayer said that it was possible for the organization to reach a point where there are no experienced officials to head operations.
These changes have placed their focus on Ben Sulayem’s leadership and FIA internal issues and in-process increasing public demands for the company’s responsibility and professionalization to protect and develop the motorsport governing system.