FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem addressed various topics in the exclusive interview with Motorsport.com and one of the topics was his relationship with the British media, where he believes he has not been treated fairly during his tenure.
Ben Sulayem’s comments in the UK media come in the wake of Adrian Newey’s appearance on the High Performance podcast, in which the engineer spoke about his reasons for leaving Red Bull to join Aston Martin.
The designer had noted that both Max Verstappen and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel had been treated unfairly by the British media, stating that “there is this sort of demonization, which they have both suffered from at times, which is very unfair.” .
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem agreed with Newey’s comments and expressed his opinion on the role of the media in motorsport. “I respect Max [Verstappen] because I’m a pilot. I have been a champion and I respect winners and champions. I see he had his share [di maltrattamenti]but let’s talk about me. If you look at the British media and what they did to me… For God’s sake, they convicted me.
“They haven’t accused me of anything, but they continue to do so. What if I care? No. Why? Because what do they want? They want to sell and get more coverage for themselves. Of course, yes. But they have no power over me and the FIA”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, speaks to Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“With all due respect to the British media or any other media, they have no right to vote. We are an independent, democratic Federation. It is the membership that elected me. The power lies with the General Assembly, not them.”
“And you know what? Can we stop this nonsense and get back to business and do what’s best for the sport? If that’s possible? I’m asking. If they [i media] they don’t want to do it, it’s up to them to decide. But life goes on. Do you know what they did to me? They made me stronger. Now I am more attentive and wiser.”
“And I have the support [dei club membri]. And if and when the members decide that it is time to change me as president, they will decide. After all, who put me there? It’s the General Assembly, it’s the members. I’m very, very clear about this. And if they don’t like it, that’s their decision.”
“But I don’t go back to anyone, I don’t respond to you much [membri dei media] and I don’t take revenge. Why? Because I don’t have the time. I’m committed to responding to what the members want and what motorsport wants.”
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Open to having a run for president
Ben Sulayem, who hopes to be re-elected FIA president next year, believes the federation is in a better state now than at the end of 2021, when he took up the role.
“Honestly, I believe this 100%, And there are so many elements to this. Internally, they are efficient now. Things move faster,” Ben Sulayem said.
“And we went back to our mission, which is to listen to the members. If you eliminate the members, there is no more FIA. It’s very simple. The FIA is in better shape, the FIA is healthier. And also the teams [di F1] they need a strong and healthy FIA, because no one wants to spend [soldi] in a championship that is not governed.”
Speaking about his goals for the remainder of his first term as FIA president, he said: “For this year, just finishing and realizing my manifesto. And we’re on the right track. We’ve put the FIA back in the black. And that’s not through layoffs and removals, but generating more revenue and making others fair to us, repositioning and reforming the FIA and returning to our mission.
And” another thing: If there’s anyone who wants to have a presidential race with me, I’d be more than happy. We talked about democracy. It’s democracy all the time, not some of the time. So I’m more than happy [di sfidare qualcun altro]”.
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