Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to rewrite the rulebook that governs his own office. The FIA president has tabled a proposal to scrap the term limits embedded in the federation’s statutes, a change that would clear the way for him to remain at the head of motorsport’s governing body well beyond the 12-year cap currently written into Article 9 of the FIA statutes. The proposal will be put before the FIA general assembly in Macau in December, where any amendment to the federation’s foundational rules requires a two-thirds majority of member clubs to pass.
Ben Sulayem, elected in December 2021 as the successor to Jean Todt, is the first non-European president in the FIA’s 121-year history. He is currently serving the first of two permitted four-year terms, with a re-election campaign expected in late 2025. Under the existing rules, even a second-term victory would force him out by the end of 2029. The proposed amendment would remove that ceiling entirely, allowing an incumbent to stand for re-election indefinitely so long as the membership keeps voting them in.
What the proposal actually changes
The FIA’s term-limit clause was introduced as part of Max Mosley’s governance reforms in 2009, when the federation moved to align itself more closely with the structures of major international sporting bodies. The 12-year cap was designed to prevent the kind of entrenched leadership that had defined Mosley’s own 16-year tenure and the 13 years served by Jean-Marie Balestre before him. Todt, bound by the new rules, stepped down in 2021 after the maximum three four-year terms permitted under a transitional arrangement.
Ben Sulayem’s proposal, circulated to FIA member clubs earlier this month, frames the change as a matter of “democratic flexibility” — arguing that the membership, not the statute book, should decide how long a president serves. Supporting documents seen by multiple paddock sources also propose tweaks to the nomination process for senate and World Motor Sport Council seats, consolidating the president’s authority over internal appointments. Critics within the federation say the bundling is deliberate: clubs voting on term limits would also be endorsing a wider shift of power toward the presidency.
A presidency already under pressure
The timing is awkward. Ben Sulayem’s first term has been defined by a sequence of public disputes — the Andretti-Cadillac entry battle, the Susie Wolff conflict-of-interest inquiry that was later dropped, the resignation of compliance officer Paolo Basarri in 2024, and the high-profile departure of deputy president for sport Robert Reid in April this year. Reid cited a “breakdown in governance standards” in his resignation letter, a phrase Ben Sulayem dismissed at the time as “the language of someone who lost an internal vote.”
F1’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, has watched the turbulence with visible discomfort. Stefano Domenicali, the championship’s chief executive, declined to comment directly on the term-limit proposal at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix but reiterated that the sport “thrives on stable, predictable regulation.” The drivers’ association, the GPDA, has not yet issued a formal response, though chairman Alex Wurz wrote in his February column that “governance reform at the FIA should expand accountability, not concentrate it.”
What happens next
The mechanics of getting the amendment passed are not straightforward. The FIA’s roughly 245 member clubs each carry weighted voting power, and Ben Sulayem’s strongest support base sits in the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia — regions that helped deliver his 2021 victory over Graham Stoker. European clubs, particularly the larger national federations in the UK, Germany, and Italy, have historically been the loudest defenders of the post-2009 governance settlement.
Several scenarios are now in play before the December vote:
- The proposal passes intact, clearing the path for Ben Sulayem to seek a third term in 2029 and beyond.
- The term-limit clause is softened rather than abolished — extended to 16 years, for example — as a compromise position.
- The amendment fails, leaving Ben Sulayem to fight a contested 2025 re-election under the existing two-term ceiling.
- A counter-motion is tabled by reform-minded member clubs, potentially tightening rather than loosening the president’s powers.
Carlos Sainz Sr., the rallying double world champion, has been mentioned in paddock circles as a possible 2025 challenger, though he has made no public declaration. Tim Mayer, the American steward dismissed by Ben Sulayem last year, has also been linked to a candidacy. Whatever happens in Macau, the December vote will shape not just the next four years of FIA leadership but the structural balance between president, senate, and membership for a generation.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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