The FIA has been accused of presenting an “illusion of democracy” in an uncompromising broadside from the last remaining challenger to Mohammed Ben Sulayem as he formally announced his attempt to succeed the organisation’s incumbent president was over. Tim Mayer, a former FIA senior steward, also condemned Formula One’s governing body for lacking transparency and threatening the sport’s future.
The 59-year-old American, who was sacked from his FIA role last year, had been standing as a candidate against Ben Sulayem but on Friday in Austin acknowledged the incumbent would run unopposed because of the way FIA electoral regulations are composed.
“There will be only one candidate, the incumbent,” Mayer said. “That’s not democracy – that’s the illusion of democracy.”
Mayer, and two other would-be candidates cannot stand because presidential nominees are required to submit six prospective vice-presidents, one from each of the FIA’s global regions, represented on the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC).
The Brazilian wife of the former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, Fabiana Ecclestone, is the only world council representative for South America and has already declared for Ben Sulayem. With no others eligible to be nominated as a vice-president, no candidate can meet FIA requirements.
Mayer noted that in South America only one person had stood for the WMSC and in Africa only two, both of whom he said “are directly associated with the incumbent”.
“When elections are decided before ballots are cast, that’s not democracy – that’s theatre,” he said. “And when member clubs are left with no real choice, they become spectators, not participants.”
Mayer questioned why there were so few representatives on the WMSC list and why the number of eligible members had dropped from 40 in 2021 to 29 this year. “Did member clubs suddenly lose interest in shaping the sport? Were they persuaded, pressured or promised something not to stand? I cannot say for sure,” he said.
When campaigning Mayer said that he had found FIA member clubs across the world did not want to challenge the status quo. “Across our travels, many member clubs told me: ‘We want to speak, but we can’t.’ Clubs fear losing projects, funding, or recognition if they simply question the system.”
The American insisted he would continue his campaign if only to highlight what he believes is wrong with the current governance. He also recognised he knew of the regulations when he stood for president and that they may prove an impossible hurdle but chose to continue nonetheless.
Mayer also cited a report commissioned from the Utrecht School of Governance into the FIA using the Sports Governance Observer benchmark. Their findings were damning, under an executive summary titled “power without brakes”.
“The FIA’s governance structurally concentrates power in the office of the president, and accountability remains confined within a system over which the president exercises decisive control,” it read.
“Unless independent oversight, open and competitive elections, transparent decision-making, and stakeholder representation are introduced, the FIA will remain structurally predisposed to the concentration of power. History across international sport governance shows that such reliance invariably fails.”
The findings of the report Mayer argued could have a fundamental impact on F1, given that teams now have their own good governance practices to which they adhere.
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“People who have governance agreements within their own companies, which is 99.9% of the companies in the Formula One paddock, they have a requirement for this. So they find an undemocratic FIA to be a threat,” he said. “We provide a foundation which is where Formula One can build its house. Without democratic governance, without a strong internal process, that foundation is built on sand.”
Ben Sulayem’s time in charge since 2021 has been marked by controversy, not least rifts with drivers and a string of high-profile departures from the sport’s governing body, including the deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, who left citing a “breakdown of governance standards” in April.
Last year Lewis Hamilton was unequivocal when he stated Ben Sulayem had “never” had his backing, adding his voice to the criticism of the FIA and warning it was damaging the reputation of F1.
“There is a real lack of accountability here, within this sport, within the FIA,” he said. “There are things that are happening behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is really no accountability and we need that.”
The FIA has been approached for comment on Mayer’s claims. The governing body had issued a statement which addressed Mayer not meeting the requirements to be a candidate.
“The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage,” it read. “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.
“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.”
