15/07/2025 16:20
The FIA has been accused of "going backwards" under president
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, with anyone defending the Emirati's time in
charge to be "very flawed". Motorsport UK chairman David Richards
has endured a public fallout with Ben Sulayem this year, and is
perceived to be a supporter of opposition candidate Tim Mayer in
the run-up to the presidential elections in Uzbekistan on December
12. A row between former F1 team boss Richards and Ben Sulayem was
sparked when the former was barred from attending a meeting of the
FIA World Motor Sport Council after refusing to sign a
confidentiality agreement demanded of the organisation's members.
Richards, who initially supported Ben Sulayem's bid to be president
in 2021 on the back of promises made at the time regarding
transparency, accountability and integrity, feels grossly let down
by what he has since witnessed. "I want to go back to the original
mandate that I supported with Mohammed, and I want to see that
delivered," said Richards, speaking to RacingNews365 . "I want to
see that original manifesto, which I still believe stands good
today, delivered to the FIA, where we have a professionally managed
organisation with a president who offers leadership but is a
non-executive, where we have transparency of all that's going on
within the FIA in a very open and democratic way. "That, to my
mind, means unravelling some of the things that have gone on in the
last couple of years, because we've gone backwards in that period
of time. "And anyone who seeks to defend that is very flawed. I
hear arguments [from people saying], 'Well, look what's been
achieved', and all the rest of it. Dig under the surface, and I'm
sorry, it is not what it all seems." New candidate means vital
debate Mayer, a former F1 steward axed by Ben Sulayem in November
last year, threw his hat into the ring to run against him ahead of
the British Grand Prix weekend. Mayer, the son of Teddy, who led
McLaren following the death of the team's founder Bruce McLaren in
1970, accused Ben Sulayem of "a reign of terror" in his leadership,
and of creating various 'illusions' regarding progress, financial
turnaround and integrity. Richards has insisted Mayer's bid for the
presidency "is not a personal thing". He added: "This is about
delivering on the promises of that manifesto, and I think we're all
aligned on that front. I don't think there's any dispute about
that. "What this does for me...I was very fearful there would be no
candidate standing forward, so what this does is allow us the
opportunity for debate. "Tim coming forward has allowed us to
discuss all these issues, to contrast the different approaches and
point out the way we think there are failings, and how they can be
addressed. "In my role at Motorsport UK, it's that debate I'm more
interested in than supporting individuals per se. "Obviously, it's
a long way off before we have to make that vote in the election,
but between now and then, there's a great opportunity for debate to
see what has truly been achieved, what has not been achieved, and
what we feel is important."
