FIA President surprises as he meets with bitter F1 rivals

Ben Sulayem has made headlines as a contentious figure during his term as FIA President but this week he brought together two of the sport's fiercest rivals for an unlikely meeting over dinner.

This comes at a crucial time for the incumbent FIA President, who faces the upcoming FIA presidential election on 12 December.

Brown and Horner have not always seen eye-to-eye in F1 and the McLaren CEO has not shied away from commenting on the former Red Bull Racing team principal's dismissal in July.

Speaking in the aftermath of Horner's sacking he said: "I'm maybe [surprised by] the timing, but not the result.

"There's been a lot of drama there the last couple of years and it doesn't seem like that drama has been calming down - maybe been getting worse. So I'm not surprised."

Regarding more recent rumours about Horner's potential F1 return, Brown said that F1 "needs different types of characters."

Though the purpose of their meeting remains unknown, it would perhaps be a big leap to suggest that the two have become friends.

Much has been made of Horner’s next career move after he was dismissed by Red Bull racing in July.

He is currently on gardening leave until spring 2026 after officially parting ways with Red Bull. GPblog understands that he received a package worth around £52 million following his dismissal.

However the former team principal has been widely linked with a return to the sport, most recently to Ferrari amid rumours that the Scuderia’s President John Elkaan was uncertain over current team principal Frederic Vasseur’s future.

Current FIA President Ben Sulayem is nearing the end of a first four-year term as FIA president but could be re-elected for another four years this December.

Ben Sulayem’s main competition comes from American motorsport official Tim Mayer, 28-year-old Swiss-French racing driver Laura Villars (the youngest ever FIA presidency candidate), and Belgian journalist Virginie Philippot.

However, concerns have been raised that Ben Sulayem could run unopposed due to a complex set of candidacy regulations.

The 12 December election will occur during the FIA Annual General Assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan - which takes place one day before the FIA Prize Giving ceremony.

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