FIA head Ben Sulayem laughs off 'reign of terror' jibe
FILE PHOTO: FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem addresses delegates during the FIA General Assembly at the Kigali Convention Center, in Kigali, Rwanda December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
SILVERSTONE, England - FIA head Mohammed Ben Sulayem laughed off talk of a 'reign of terror' inside motorsport's world governing body and promised on Sunday the coming presidential election would be fair and transparent.
The Emirati is seeking a second term in December after being first elected in 2021, with American Tim Mayer the sole declared opponent.
Mayer announced his candidacy on Friday ahead of the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone, telling a press conference he saw a "failure in leadership" at the FIA.
"Those people work very hard. They deserve leadership that provides them with tools, with a vision, with resources and more than anything else does not have a reign of terror every time they walk into the office," Mayer said.
Ben Sulayem found the assertion ridiculous.
"I just laughed. I actually had a smile. I said whoever is saying this, they are disconnected with the FIA. Honestly," he told Reuters.
"You go to the FIA and just enter and see. Sit with them, tell them it's just between you and them, and ask them the question. I think maybe he's confusing the period," he added.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore First BTO project in Sembawang North to be offered in July HDB launch
Singapore Woman on SMRT bus 190 injured after bottle thrown at vehicle leaves hole in window
Asia 'Don't be seen in India again': Indian nationals pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint
Asia Two women fatally stabbed at bar in Japan by man
Business High Court orders Instagram seller to pay Louis Vuitton $200,000 in damages over counterfeit goods
Singapore MOH studying 18 proposals to integrate TCM into public healthcare
Asia Malaysian commando dies during military diving exercise off Kuantan coast
Singapore His world crashed when he got F9 in O-level Tamil but PropNex co-founder Ismail Gafoor beat the odds
The FIA headquarters in Paris is on the Place de la Concorde, where from 1793-94 public executions by guillotine were carried out during the French revolutionary 'Reign of Terror'.
There has been a high turnover of senior staff since Ben Sulayem took office, including former Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid who resigned in April.
"Decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to represent," Reid said then.
Ben Sulayem, whose reign so far has featured a number of controversies including statute changes that opponents say make it harder for rivals to stand against him, defended his record.
"Have you ever read any article where I said negatively about a single person? That's not me," he said.
Reminded he had told Reuters in May that he had "cleaned up the FIA house" and rid it of enemies who wanted to stab him in the back, Ben Sulayem smiled:
"It's not because they don't want to stab me, it's because there's no space left.
"Truly numbers do not lie... they (the members) are happier, they can see that the money is invested back in. And in everything there is governance."
Of the election, the former rally driver said he was prepared.
"It's like putting your helmet and gloves back on. Really it reminds me of competitions, and competition is always good," he added.
"We have such clear guidelines that now you cannot fiddle around with anything and that will never happen, not in my reign."
Mayer, 59, is the son of former McLaren team principal Teddy Mayer and has previously served as a voluntary steward and FIA commission member and national association representative for the United States.
He was also senior vice-president of racing operations at IndyCar/Champ Car from 1998-2003 and COO of the IMSA and American Le Mans sportscar Series from 2004-2009. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Palestinian armed group in Gaza admits to coordination with Israel
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A building hit by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on July 6. Gaza City, Palestinian Territories – The head of a Palestinian armed group opposed to Hamas and accused of aid looting in the Gaza Strip confirmed on July 6 that it was coordinating with the Israeli military, in an interview with public radio. Mr Yasser Abu Shabab said his group, known as the Popular Forces, was able to move freely in zones under Israeli military control and communicated their operations beforehand. 'We keep them informed, but we carry out the military actions on our own,' he said in an interview with Makan, Israel's Arabic-language public radio broadcaster. Mr Abu Shabab also said his group had received 'logistical and financial support from several parties', without mentioning Israel directly. 'There are things we can't talk about publicly.' In June , the Israeli authorities admitted to providing support to armed Palestinian groups opposed to Hamas in Gaza, without naming them, though local media reports identified the group in question as Mr Abu Shabab's. 'It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time. Knesset member and former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, however, accused the government of 'giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons'. The European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank describes Mr Abu Shabab as the head of a criminal gang in the Rafah region of southern Gaza that has been suspected of looting aid trucks. Mr Abu Shabab did not address the accusation in his radio interview, and stressed that the only goal of his militia was to defeat Hamas and to provide an alternative for governance in the Gaza Strip. 'We do not belong to any ideology or political organisation,' Mr Abu Shabab said in the interview, adding that he was seeking to eradicate Hamas' 'injustice' and 'corruption'. 'We will continue to fight, no matter the bloodshed,' he added. 'Right now, Hamas is dying. They know their end is near.' Mr Abu Shabab has drawn the ire of Hamas, which has ruled over the Gaza Strip since 2007. On July 2 , a Hamas military court gave him 10 days to turn himself in to be tried for treason, among other charges. On July 6 , a coalition of Palestinian clans accused the Popular Forces of 'shamelessly collaborating with the enemy'. 'They are rejected by all our people,' the coalition said in a statement. 'We will show no mercy to them or to anyone who follows in their footsteps by aiding the occupation. They will be treated as they deserve to be: traitors and collaborators.' AFP
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel attacks 3 Yemeni ports and power plant, Israeli military says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Israel has attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant, the Israeli military said early on July 7, marking the first Israeli attack on Yemen in almost a month. The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military added. Israel also attacked the Galaxy Leader ship in Ras Isa port, which was seized by Houthis in late 2023. 'The Houthi terrorist regime's forces installed a radar system on the ship, and are using it to track vessels in international maritime space, in order to promote the Houthi terrorist regime's activities,' the military said. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that Israel launched a series of strikes on Hodeidah, shortly after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for people at the three Yemeni ports. The assault comes hours after a ship was attacked off the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the ship's crew abandoned it as it took on water. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fits the typical profile of a Houthi target. Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have fired at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade, in what it says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Most of the dozens of missiles and drones fired toward Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 7, 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox If trading partners from Taiwan to the EU do not strike deals with Washington, tariffs will start on Aug 1, said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Tariffs will kick in on Aug 1 barring trade deals US tariffs will kick in on Aug 1 if trading partners from Taiwan to the European Union do not strike deals with Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on July 6. The rates will 'boomerang back' to the sometimes very high levels which President Donald Trump had announced on April 2 – before he suspended the levies to allow for trade talks and set a July 9 deadline for agreement, Mr Bessent told CNN. He confirmed comments by Mr Trump to reporters aboard Air Force One on July 4 in which he also cited a new deadline: 'Well, I'll probably start them on August 1. Well, that's pretty early. Right?' The president said he had signed 12 letters to be sent out, likely on July 7. READ MORE HERE Death toll from Texas floods in US reaches 69 A volunteer looking for missing people in Hunt, Texas, on July 6, following severe flash flooding on the July 4 holiday. PHOTO: AFP The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 69 on July 6, including at least 21 children, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp entered a third day. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, speaking at a press conference on the afternoon of July 6, said the death toll in Kerr county, the epicentre of the flooding, had reached 59, while another 10 had died elsewhere in Texas and 41 remained missing. Among the most devastating impacts of the flooding occurred at Camp Mystic summer camp, a nearly century-old Christian girls camp, where 11 girls and a counsellor are still missing. READ MORE HERE Israel to call up 54,000 ultra-Orthodox students A decades-old military conscription exemption for ultra-Orthodox students was overturned in 2024. PHOTO: AFP Israel's military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments. The Supreme Court ruling in 2024 overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 per cent it represents today. Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel's 21 per cent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve. READ MORE HERE Tourist leaves dog in hot locker to tour German castle Tourists objected and security staff were alerted when a woman shut her dog inside a hot locker so she could tour Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle. PHOTO: REUTERS A dog was rescued from a locker for valuables at Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany after its owner shut her pet inside over the objections of other tourists so that she could visit the famous attraction, police said on July 6. Neuschwanstein, a picture-postcard castle with surging turrets nestled in the Alps near the border with Austria, is one of Germany's top tourist attractions. Despite it being a hot summer's day and half the locker already having been filled by a pram, the woman locked the dog inside the small space and left to tour the castle, police in the nearby town of Fuessen said in a statement. READ MORE HERE British driver Lando Norris wins home grand prix Lando Norris won a treacherous rain-hit British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 6 from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, took third spot for the veteran German's first podium in 239 races. Norris returned to a rapturous reception from British fans as he won his home race for the first time and moved to within eight points of leader Piastri in the drivers' standings.
