FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has accused British media of convicting him – but insists that he does not care as they are not the ones keeping him in power.

After a year in which Ben Sulayem was accused of being misogynistic, allegedly interfering with race results and putting himself in hot water with FOM, it seems the FIA president is not happy about the treatment he has received in the UK press.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem hits out at British media
Despite its worldwide audience, the majority of media in an F1 paddock is British and the country has a reputation of producing investigative journalism into major figures both in sports and other areas.

In January 2023, the British newspaper The Times unearthed archived comments allegedly made by Ben Sulayem in 2001 in which he said he dislikes “women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth”. The president never denied making the quotes but the FIA defended him by saying “the remarks in this archived website from 2001 do not reflect the president’s beliefs”.

Ben Sulayem's predecessor Todt appears to have distanced himself from the FIA's Formula One governing body, see Ben Sulayem on the dynamics of modern sports here, to focus on global road safety and the non-motorsport programmes the organisation also oversees or manages. So I think there's a lot to think about.