Fallen FIA presidential candidate issues full-throated attack on governing body

Tim Mayer, who has withdrawn from the FIA presidential race against the incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has held a fiery press conference where he has taken aim at the motorsport governing body.

Mayer, who has ended his ambition of succeeding Ben Sulayem, highlighted the issues for candidates running against the incumbent, which have come to light in recent weeks.

The elections will take place on December 12, but as Mayer pointed out, there will be only one name on the ballot.

Upon confirming the election is therefore essentially over, the Mayer stated: "But our campaign is not, and neither is our mission to protect the integrity and reputation of the FIA."

"So how can an election be over when the ballot is more than two months away?

"This time, there will be no election. There will be no debate between ideas, no comparison of vision, no examination of leadership.

"There'll only be one candidate, the incumbent, and that's not democracy. That's the illusion of democracy.

"Throughout our FIA Forward campaign, we've spoken of fairness, reform and integrity, of returning the FIA to its members, but today, the outcome of this election and the flawed process that governs it proves how far we've drifted from that ideal."

Lack of viable candidates

Addressing the pressing matter at hand, the lack of sufficient viable vice-presidents for sport in certain regions, Mayer explained how the reduction in options has made it impossible to run against Ben Sulayem.

"Under the FIA statutes, no presidential list can exist unless it includes one vice-president for sport from every global region, and those vice-presidents must be drawn from the list of those who have nominated themselves for the World Motor Sport Council and have an International event on the FIA calendar," he said.

"That sounds inclusive, until you realise what happens when there are no independent candidates to choose from, no credible alternative options.

"In South America, only one person stood for the World Motor Sport Council. In Africa, only two. All three are directly associated with the incumbent.

"The result is simple: no one but the incumbent can run under the FIA system. In the last election cycle, more than 40 candidates came forward for the World Motor Sport Council. This time, 29."

Mayer continued: "What changed? Did member clubs suddenly lose interest in shaping the sport, or were they persuaded, pressured or promised something not to stand?

"I can't say for sure, but when only three out of 12 eligible clubs across South America and Africa put themselves forward, independent of whether they support me or not, it's clear this is no longer a democratic process. When choice is replaced by control, democracy is diminished.

"Take South America. It's a continent that is passionate about motorsport, yet only one candidate emerged.

"Fabiana Ecclestone has deep ties to Brazilian motorsport, and I respect her credentials, but as I travelled across the region, the same message came to me time and time again: motorsport in Brazil is not typical of motorsport across South America, yet no other club chose to nominate someone which, by the way, would not have been a challenge to Mrs. Ecclestone, but an opportunity to broaden representation of their region and strengthen the sport across the continent.

"Now consider Africa, a region of 22 clubs across 47 nations with vast promise and vast diversity, yet only two candidates emerged, both declared supporters of the president.

"Amina Mohamed of Kenya is a respected and accomplished diplomat, but not a lifelong motorsport organiser, and Rodrigo Rocha was permitted to run because of an Esports event quietly added to the international sporting calendar last month by an E vote, an event that, though was scheduled for last weekend, to the best of our knowledge, appears never to have taken place.

"It's not even listed on his own club's calendar or their social media pages. Which, in fact, is a situation that mirrors what happened the last time he stood as a candidate: an event put on the calendar but never run.

"So I ask, how is this how legitimacy should be built? Is this how African motor sports should be best represented, and is this how we're going to grow the sport in this critical region with so much untapped potential?

"When elections are decided before ballots are even cast, that's not democracy, that's theatre. And when member clubs are left with no real choice, they become spectators, not participants."

Mayer confirmed a report titled Power Without Brakes had been published to highlight the governance issues within the FIA.

Produced with Utrecht University, it found numerous institutional failings within the motorsport governing body.

"We strongly believe a series of ethics violations have been committed in this election process, and we have now submitted numerous ethics complaints," Mayer added.

"Assuming the ethics committee finds validity to our complaints, who does this go to for action? The president of the FIA or the senate president, both conflicted parties.

And the statutes don't provide any other method for any appeal. Where is the accountability? This is how institutions fail, and this is power without brakes.

"The nominations committee is, by statute, supposed to be transparent. Transparent.

"Yet they have published no minutes, published no meetings, and refused to release the list of people who submitted their names to World Motor Sport Council, only a list of those they allegedly approved.

"In fact, there is no publicly available evidence that this committee even met. And if it did, did the representative from Mozambique recuse himself when they approved Mr. Rocha from Mozambique? How would we know? There is absolutely no transparency. And this is how institutions fail. This is power without brakes.

"We're speaking of the nominations committee. Did they consider that Mr. Cohen of Costa Rica has no publicly listed events on the international sporting calendar, no international events listed on his own club's website, or was he exceptionally approved by the senate, a process that is only open to the incumbent president? We don't know. There's no evidence.

"Yet he was approved for the World Motor Sport Council list. So this, then, is the brand of the FIA, and this is what partners and clubs are beginning to realise. When you have power without brakes, institutions fail."