Former FIA presidential candidate Tim Mayer has submitted seven ethics complaints — “and counting” — related to the organization’s ongoing election process, he told The Athletic during Formula One’s United States Grand Prix weekend.
“I can’t discuss some of them, because they involve specific individuals, and it would be improper to comment before the Ethics Committee has had time to review the complaints,” Mayer said.
“One of the complaints concerns the Nominations Committee, specifically that it is not fulfilling its statutory duty to operate transparently.”
Under Article 25.1.5 of the FIA Statutes, the Nominations Committee is tasked with upholding “the principles of transparency and professionalism” in the appointment of FIA body members.
Mayer claims there is “no publicly available evidence” that the committee has actually convened. The Athletic was unable to independently verify this through the FIA’s publicly accessible records.
Earlier in the weekend, Mayer described the FIA presidential election process as “the illusion of democracy”, asserting that “the rules of this election mean there will be no election.”
Speaking again on Saturday, Mayer explained his decision to pursue internal ethics complaints rather than immediate legal action.
“I’m not a revolutionary — I’m an evolutionary,” he said. “You only have to look at the way I dress to know I follow the rules. And part of the rules say you must use the FIA’s internal processes.
Do I believe they’ll work? No, because the incumbent controls those processes. But under French law — which governs the FIA — you must exhaust internal remedies before going to court.
So we’re doing that. We’re putting pressure on the system and showing members that there’s an obvious flaw with no way to fix it from within.”
To appear on the ballot for FIA president, candidates must nominate six prospective vice presidents, each drawn from the eligible pool of World Motor Sport Council members. The list must include representatives from different global regions, and each vice president may appear on only one presidential slate.
However, the South American region poses a unique problem: only Fabiana Ecclestone — wife of former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone — is eligible. Having already declared support for incumbent president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, her inclusion effectively makes him the only candidate capable of meeting the eligibility requirements, thereby eliminating any meaningful competition.
In June, Ben Sulayem proposed statute changes that moved up presidential candidacy deadlines and gave the Nominations Committee authority to examine candidates’ “professional integrity.” Separately, existing rules requiring regional vice-presidential nominees effectively blocked all challengers when Fabiana Ecclestone — the only eligible South American candidate — backed Ben Sulayem.
The official FIA statement said the amendments were “designed to ensure consistency and rigour in candidate selection.” The changes included bringing candidacy deadlines forward four weeks “to allow the Nominations Committee to have more time to examine the eligibility criteria” of presidential candidates themselves — vice-presidential nominees are drawn from a pre-approved list of World Motor Sport Council candidates — and requiring presidential candidates to “adhere to the same standards of professional integrity” as those applying for other FIA positions.
