The FIA - Photo: Race Pictures

The FIA reacts to ex-candidate Tim Mayer's strong election claims

23:43, 17 Oct

Updated: 00:26, 18 Oct

byKada Sarkozi

The FIA has shared a statement following Tim Mayer's claims regarding the federation's electoral process at the US Grand Prix, after the American's withdrawal from the presidential race.

Mayer was one of the three candidates - alongside Laura Villars and Virginie Philpott - challenging the incumbent FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, however, a recent twist showed that the Emirati can run unopposed for his second term.

As Fabiana Ecclestone — wife of Bernie Ecclestone and the sole Vice President candidate from South America — supports Ben Sulayem’s re-election, the other candidates effectively have no path to the ballot.

At the Circuit of the Americas, Mayer announced his decision to abandon the presidential race during a press conference.

He told GPblog: "This time, there will be no election. There will be no debate between ideas, no comparison of vision, no examination of leadership. There will only be one candidate, the incumbent, and that's not democracy. That's the illusion of democracy."

The American also urged French authorities to investigate the FIA.

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Mayer at the US Grand Prix - Photo: Race Pictures

The FIA reacts with a statement

The federation has now responded to Mayer's claims in a statement shared with GPblog.

"The report commissioned by Tim Mayer’s team finds the FIA’s governance practices to be in line with other federations, particularly those "that have made progress in formalising governance structures". The benchmarking process outlined within the report does not find the FIA to be behind the curve. This reflects the fact that the FIA has taken several steps to strengthen its corporate governance policies.

"The FIA was not contacted to confirm any of the statements or assumptions made about its processes, policies and administration within the report."

About the 2025 election process, the statement continues:

"The FIA Presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.The requirements for the 2025 FIA elections, including the relevant deadlines and eligibility criteria for the Presidential List and World Councils, are defined in the FIA Statutes and Internal Regulations, which are publicly available on the FIA’s website.

"Detailed information regarding these elections has also been made available on a dedicated page on the FIA’s website since 13 June 2025 and communicated to all FIA Members.

"The requirements related to the regional representation of the Vice-Presidents for Sport, and to select them from the World Motor Sport Council in order to draw up a Presidential List, are not new.

"These criteria applied to previous elections.As to be expected, preparing a candidature for a Presidential List or the World Councils requires certain steps to be taken. Prospective candidates have had since the publication of the detailed information on 13 June to prepare their applications."

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