Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the treatment reserved for him by the British media.
The Emirati president thus believes that these British media have simply “sentenced” before reminding that it was not them who voted at the FIA.
“If you look at the British media and what they did to me… Damn, they condemned me”, Ben Sulayem told Motorsport.com.
“They didn’t accuse me [de quoi que ce soit]but they continue. And I care? No. For what ? 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. With all due respect to the British media or any other media, they do not have the right to vote.”
“We are an independent and democratic federation. It was the members who elected me. The power lies with the General Assembly, not them.”
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“Can we stop this nonsense?”
“And you know what? Can we stop this nonsense, get back to business and do what’s best for the sport? If you can? I ask you. If they [les médias] don’t want to do it, that’s their business.”
“But life goes on. Do you know what they did to me? They made me stronger. I am more careful now and wiser. And I have the support [des clubs membres]. And if the members decide it’s time to change my president, that’s up to them.”
“Ultimately, who put me in this position? It’s the General Assembly, it’s the members. I am very, very clear about this. And if they don’t like it, it’s theirs”.
“I don’t respond to you much [les médias] and I don’t fight back. For what ? Because I don’t have time. I’m so busy responding to what the members want and what motorsport wants.”
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Ben Sulayem hopes to be able to face a presidential candidate
Elected president of the FIA in December 2021, Mohammed Ben Sulayem defended his record before saying he was “more than happy” to see an opponent facing him for the presidency of the FIA.
“The FIA is in better shape, the FIA is healthier”, he added.“F1 teams also need a strong and healthy FIA, because no one wants to spend money in a championship that is not governed.”
“We brought the FIA back into the plus. And this is not by firing and removing people, but by generating more revenue and being fair to others, by repositioning and reforming the FIA and returning to our mission.”
“Another thing: if anyone wants to participate in a race [présidentielle] with me, I will be more than happy. We talked about democracy. It’s democracy all the time, not part of the time. So I’m more than happy [d’affronter quelqu’un d’autre].”
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