Mohammed Ben Sulayem intends to defend himself with letter to FIA members

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has sent a letter to members of the FIA. The president reportedly described the whistleblowers' reports as an attempt to destabilise the FIA.

The FIA president is going full defence after several allegations in recent months. In a letter, accessed by the Associated Press, Ben Sulayem defended himself in front of all FIA members. The whistleblowers are said to have raised the alarm only to destabilise the president's position and also to want to attack the integrity of the FIA as an organisation.

Ben Sulayem is said to speak in the letter of 'a period of unprecedented turbulence and challenge'. He also states: "[These things happened to] destabilize me as President of the FIA, but also of questioning the integrity of our respected organization."

Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem remains under fire

Ben Sulayem has regularly been in the news (negatively) in recent years. In early 2023, the FIA announced that the president would step down, following criticism of his misogynistic statements. However, the president appeared more often than ever and was present at every GP, much to the displeasure of several F1 teams.

Ben Sulayem was investigated by the FIA integrity commission in the past month for two cases. Whistleblowers had raised the concern that Ben Sulayem had allegedly interfered with the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and he also allegedly wanted to stop for the Las Vegas circuit having a license. Ben Sulayem was acquitted by the FIA, but that did not end the matter.

Indeed, Ben Sulayem played a role in the short-lived investigation of Toto Wolff and Susie Wolff. Wolff and Ben Sulayem would not be the best of friends at all, and this became clear again after a statement by Susie Wolff. After the FIA president was cleared by the FIA, she came out with a statement that she is taking the FIA to court following the federation's investigation and statement in December.