Vasseur thinks criticism of FIA president will soon fade into the background

Frederic Vasseur believes it suits Mohammed Ben Sulayem that the new Formula One season is about to start. The new Ferrari team boss believes that critical voices about the FIA president will quickly subside with the season around the corner.

Ben Sulayem came under fire after a series of events that Formula 1 would not have been happy with. Rumours had been circulating for some time about relations between F1 and the FIA, which had allegedly cooled since the new president took office.

In January, those rumours were fuelled by statements from the FIA president, in which he indicated he supported the arrival of new potential F1 teams like Andretti's. A new procedure would be planned to make participation easier. He then questioned the value of the sport after reports emerged of a rejected bid from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

These comments did not go down well with F1 and owner Liberty Media, which strongly criticised Ben Sulayem's remarks via a letter. However, Fred Vasseur is convinced that the disagreement will fade into the background once the new season starts. "For sure we'll have discussions but, as always, I hope that we'll be able to stay focused on the sporting side," the Ferrari team boss is quoted by Autosport.com.