The director of the FIA, Ben Sulayem, is distancing himself from Formula 1
In a letter sent to the CEO of F1, Stefano Domenicali, Ben Sulayem announces that he will no longer be involved in the daily management of the competition. The day-to-day affairs will be handled by Natalie Robyn, General Manager, and Nikolas Tombazis, Head of Racing Cars.
Ben Sulayem took over the FIA in December 2021 and has since completely reshuffled its leadership. This Monday, he informed Formula 1 as well as the ten teams of his intention to step back from the competition.
He thus leaves the day-to-day management to Natalie Robyn, general manager, and Nikolas Tombazis, single-seater director. The teams will now deal with him. However, Ben Sulayem will continue to contribute to major decisions.
This decision comes after a series of controversies involving the president of the FIA. Former sexist comments that he had published on social media, for example, resurfaced a few weeks ago. Tensions are also palpable between F1 and the FIA since the controversy regarding the potential sale of F1.
