The news that Mohammed bin Sulayem has been elected as the new FIA President is not a big surprise, as it was clear last night at the FIA Prizegiving that this was the way things were going. This means a number of things. The FIA Deputy President of Sport is Scotland’s Robert Reid, a former rally co-driver, who worked with Richard Burns. The Deputy-President for Mobility is Tim Shearman of Canada.
The head of the FIA Senate will be Carmelo Sanz de Barros of Spain. There are seven regional Vice-Presidents: Europe will be represented by Sweden’s Anna Nordkvist and another Spaniard Manuel Avino. The Middle East will be headed by Abdulla Al Khalifa, of Bahrain, the former President of the Karting Federation. The African Vice-President will be Rodrigo Ferreira Rocha of Mozambique and the North America regional VP will be Costa Rica’s Daniel Coen. Asia-Pacific will be represented by Singapoe’s Lung-Nien Lee and South America will feature Fabiana Ecclestone who represents Brazil. If the name sounds familiar this is because she is Bernie Ecclestone’s wife.
It should be noted that in the background, wielding plenty of influence will be David Richards of the British Motorsport UK club, although he will not have any official role on the ticket.
The remaining members of the World Councils will be announced later today.
joeblogsf1 
What is it about rally co-drivers…?
At the top level, they know the sport, the politics and the people – and they are usually fastidious organisers!
All incorruptible, I am sure.
Is this the same MBS of the Jamal Khashoggi story?
No.
Any guesses on who will replace Masi?
No-one.
What a time to take that job. When Micheal Massi trips so publicly and lands very awkwardly and visibly on one side of the scales of justice. Now the FIA has a commission running around looking busy to cover up the resulting mess. Who would choose to preside over that?
So let’s hope they find a genius way to prevent any related incidents in the future. Off the cuff rule making has to be a thing of the past.
There was no off the cuff rule-making.
I don’t think people understand that. Bluntly, the Race Director-Masi-has broad authority to do pretty much anything he sees fit to run the race. A problem is that Masi doesn’t have Charlie Whiting’s gravitas yet. And just to state my position, I think he did the right thing.
Can we infer that you might be replying from a position of having a little more knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the inflamatory decision that you can’t (or presently don’t feel able to) share?
No.
But there is nothing in the rules about the procedure that Masi followed.There was no precedence for it. Except the rule that he can do what he likes regarding the safety car.
Joe, I respect both yourself and Mark Hughes greatly and the two of you are taking a fundamentally different position on this precise point.
Both if you know way more on these matters than us laypeople.
I would love to hear a debate between the two of you on this. Maybe a guest appearance by Mark on one of your regular podcasts?
It shows, as I have already said, that there are different opinions about what happened.
Yes indeed, Joe, and differences of opinion, respectfully stated, are always a good thing.
But there’s informed opinion, as voiced by the best journalists such as yourself and Mark, and less-informed opinion, as must necessarily be the case with the rest of us who do not have the experience and understanding that comes from years of being on-the-spot in the paddock.
I would just love to hear two people who do know what they’re talking about, and whose common sense often leads them to similar conclusions, but who happen to take different views in this particular instance, chew the fat.
It would be a more respectful and illuminating debate than tribal fanboy vs tribal fanboy, or Mr Horner vs Mr Wolff.
I recall Robert Reid as a good and fair guy to deal with, even under pressure, when dealing with him a rally time controls back in the day when he was co driving Richard Burns. He should do well in this elevated position.
A nice enclosed world of highly secretive politics, or if not secretive, extremely discrete.
I read somewhere that their meeting venues are so hush hush they are announced by codified message at five hours’ notice only [allowing for private jet travel] and are often changed at the very last minute….
I haven’t heard of such things.
Until the day he dies Bernie will have some influence over affairs in F1. His wife being the Brazil representative on the council is priceless. (Although Bernie could put a price on it).
The FIA does a lot more than F1
Joe, Bernie was live on Sky News the other morning sparring with the presenter about the Abu Dhabi race. He was in amazingly top form for a chap of 118.
He is 118? I thought he was older.
That hot bed of African Motorsport, Mozambique. A country battling to keep ISIS at bay. They don’t even have an active circuit.
Have you heard of rallying. It involves mud and much skill.
In Mozambique it takes a lot more than skill, as large amounts of rally type terrain in hugely unsafe as there are over 1 millon landmines in the ground
South African Motorsport is in a mess, but we have a motorsport scene, a car industry and more cars on the road than any other country in sub-Sahara Africa, and our rallies are not with the added complications of landmines.
What is a fella going to bring to motoring where there roads are mud tracks, their only old race circuit is now a shanty town and they have huge geopolitical issues with the march of ISIS to unstable areas. If Angola which has similar issues with landmines has more motoring going on. And Kenya at least has an rally championship and some karting.
‘What is a fella going to bring to motoring where there roads are mud tracks, their only old race circuit is now a shanty town and they have huge geopolitical issues with the march of ISIS to unstable areas.’
Maybe a perspective from a country where roads are mud tracks, their only old race circuit is now a shanty town etc… There are many such places on this planet, you know? Or are you of opinion that voices from such places should not be heard, their problems are their own and that FIA should not be concerned with? BTW, FIA is much more than motorsport.
I think their mud roads are the least of their problems, poverty and the march of ISIS from the north are more pressing. Mozambique are still suffering the consequence of their 20 year civil war. It is so serious President Matamela Ramaphosa has agents in Mozambique monitoring for 🇿🇦 safety.
The simple point was that to advocate for motoring in Africa (Sport, general motoring, road safety etc) you need a representative where there is this infrastructure in place (or at least a plan to advance it) and assist the surrounding countries where there is not.
The only people who don’t care are the west, they meddled in Mozambique during the Cold War and now do nothing to assist the real problems the country faces. There are ISIS attacks weekly. It’s so frequent it’s not even reported as news. The bozo in the White House couldn’t find Mozambique on a map and we all know that Bojo has shown consistent prejudice to anyone with a darker skin, like letter boxes and pikinini’s. Portugal as colonial power does nothing either as they have their own problems.
Samora Machel died many years ago…
Joe,
What is your opinion about the presence of Mrs E. in the FIA ?
I have no problem with it. She’s smart and experienced. Obviously she’s connected too, but she deserves to be treated with respect.
She deserves to be given a chance to prove she is more than just a surname, without being judged on the surname alone. How she performs and when decisions have to be made that are tough but right, if you makes them, the respect will follow.
No different to BoJo in Blightly. I never thought he was PM material, his tenure at City Hall was 🐂💩 and bluster, but gave him a chance and he has no proved he is NOT PM material.
You respect the office, the person holding the office must earn respect through their action
Yes, he was murdered but it was made to look like a plane crash and Steve Biko, another person murdered named his son after Samora too.