F1 watches as Tim Mayer challenges the ‘illusions' of Ben Sulayem's FIA
He's the son of Teddy Mayer, who founded McLaren, and has held various racing executive positions across multiple motorsport categories. He helped run IMSA, the governing body for North American sports cars. He became a steward for several FIA championships and served as a deputy on the World Motor Sport Council. He served as an F1 race steward until last December, when he was dismissed, and he now plans to challenge the president he used to serve: Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
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Mayer feels that his experience in racing, from grassroots to F1, has readied him for this moment. He'll be challenging incumbent Ben Sulayem and pledges to resolve the problems facing the FIA under his campaign called 'FIA Forward.'
As F1's governing body, the FIA plays a key role in the decision-making that shapes the sport; however, there have been times of tension in its relationships over the past three years. Mayer wants to remedy that.
'Above all, FIA member clubs should feel proud to belong to the FIA, not burdened by it. But we have to be honest about where we are today,' Mayer said Friday. 'Three years ago, Mohammed Ben Sulayem ran on good ideas – value for smaller clubs, transparency, reform. The message was right. The delivery has failed.'
With just five months until the election that'll take place when motorsport's governing body holds its end-of-year award ceremony in Uzbekistan in December, Mayer is tasked with putting together his presidential list (his leadership team) and meeting the various requirements outlined in the FIA statutes.
He knows it's 'a Herculean task' but one he vows to meet head-on.
Within 30 seconds of starting his speech on Friday morning, Mayer declared a need for 'renewed integrity' within the FIA – immediately tackling the issue that has seemed to surround F1's governing body since Ben Sulayem was elected president at 2021's end.
Ben Sulayem has become embroiled in a number of controversies during a tenure marked by a series of high-profile departures of senior personnel. This included Robert Reid, the deputy president for sport, who quit in April, citing a 'crisis' at the FIA. Mayer highlighted his exit as being a first in the organization's history, and said it 'speaks volumes.'
Mayer was respectful of Ben Sulayem's initial proposals back in 2021 and noted that he'd brought in several good people around him to form a leadership team. The reality, Mayer claimed, turned out to be very different.
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The word Mayer kept using when discussing Ben Sulayem's tenure was 'illusion,' saying there had been 'performance' and 'stagecraft' from the president. The claims of progress, inclusion, and financial stability – the last of which Ben Sulayem has frequently highlighted – were all scotched by Mayer.
He was particularly hard on the changes Ben Sulayem has made to the FIA statutes to consolidate control. These include adjusting the ethics and complaints process to bring it under his control and introducing tighter requirements for anyone wishing to stand for the presidency.
Mayer said there had been 'the greatest centralization of power in the FIA's history,' and that it was unnecessary. 'The FIA has all the power it needs,' he said. 'It's baked into the regulations. We don't need to show that off.'
Mayer also noted how damaging regular headlines about departures or controversies at the FIA could be to its global image. 'I don't believe that the integrity problem at the FIA is the British media,' Mayer said, receiving some soft laughs from the reporters in the room.
'I genuinely think what's happening is a reporting of what's truly in everybody's mind. If you are investing in the sport, if you are a big mobility club whose name is attached to the FIA, right now, you're wondering about that investment. You're wondering: 'When is the next bomb going to get dropped? When is the next scandal going to come out?''
Mayer also questioned the decision-making process at play in the FIA. He said that calls were not only rushed to be pushed through, but that 'dissent is punished' when the president meets resistance.
Mayer himself knows that. He was sacked as an F1 steward at the end of last year after 15 years as a volunteer. The FIA did not publicly offer a reason for his dismissal.
Mayer told BBC Sport it was due to 'hurt feelings' over his handling of a fine given to the U.S. promoter following a track invasion at COTA in October, and that he was fired via text. On Friday, Mayer said it was 'disappointing' to have been dismissed, but denied the decision to stand against Ben Sulayem was about revenge – it was the first question put to him in the news conference and framed as the 'elephant in the room' – and instead highlighted his long record in service of motorsport.
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'What I see is a failure in leadership right now,' Mayer said. 'So it's given me an opportunity, and this is not about revenge. It's about how we can drive the FIA forward.'
The Athletic contacted the FIA for comment following Mayer's announcement. Mayer says he is braced for the response from Ben Sulayem.
'I don't expect Mohammed to give up,' he said. 'This will be a close fight. This will be a difficult fight. I don't plan to go down into the gutter. I plan on simply speaking the truth.'
It's just a coincidence that Mayer announced his campaign on the U.S.'s Independence Day, but he is taking an American-style approach to his political campaign. After detailing the type of governance he's seen within the FIA in recent months and years, he described what 'real governance' is to him. It's 'built on values.'
'Genuine democracy – where every club has a respected voice. Diverse perspectives are a structural priority of the FIA. A culture that welcomes challenge and debate. Transparent reporting and honest evaluations,' Mayer said. 'Good governance isn't about control. It's about service. The FIA must serve its members, not the other way around.'
The member clubs are national motorsport or automobile authorities, and they will vote for the president in December.
The phrase 'servant leadership' was mentioned three times in the 40-minute news conference. Mayer believes the FIA should be serving fans, mobility users and championships such as F1. However, he thinks it can make the biggest difference by supporting membership clubs, particularly those in underserved regions. Mayer said, 'The FIA has a duty to deliver the basics, clear rules, cost-effective (and) accessible tools, and proper training.'
His campaign has been in the works for the last six months (two months after he was fired from the FIA), and now he faces the task of getting a majority of the 245 FIA clubs to support him over Ben Sulayem. His plan for the next five months is 'retail politics.'
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Mayer recognizes that he needs to convince clubs of his vision and how it's better than the status quo.
'We can actually give them everything that they are getting right now from Mohammed, which is that he does genuinely pay attention to the smaller clubs. But they can also have professionalism,' Mayer said. 'They can also have a club that considers the major championships and isn't in conflict with the major championships. They can have a club that they can be proud of.
'So that's what we can offer them. Professionalism and consideration for what they need as smaller clubs to grow and thrive.'
Over the next 30 days, Mayer has vacancies to fill on his presidential list, as he kept the campaign quiet until Friday. Some of his friends are aware, and Mayer spoke with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to inform him of the campaign only the day prior, out of courtesy.
As far as other clubs, he's not focused on letters of support, as Ben Sulayem has received, but going directly to the clubs around the world to hear their thoughts and ideas, see how they can be incorporated into his campaign.
'This is door-to-door. It's shaking hands, kissing babies. It's all that kind of stuff we talk about in American politics,' Mayer said. 'I won't kiss too many babies, but that's what it is. And it's going out there and explaining the benefit to them. Explaining to them how we can bring value.
'How we can restructure the internal FIA to do a better job. How we can deliver resources to them. And how we can do it in a way that they can have pride in the FIA.'
News of Mayer's presidential bid will be welcomed through the F1 paddock. Mercedes driver George Russell talked of the positive impact that such competition could have, while senior figures have spoken warmly of Mayer's character.
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The asterisk is just how much of an uphill struggle Mayer will face to defeat Ben Sulayem, who comfortably won election in 2021 and already claims to have gained the support of more than 80 of the 245 clubs that will vote in December. The statute changes have also led to stricter criteria for anyone wishing to run against him to even get on the ballot.
And Mayer has already faced early hurdles with a conflict of interest allegation from within the F1 paddock – over his father's co-founding of McLaren. His father sold his stake when Tim was 16, who also noted he once penalized his father's team at a U.S. racing event, prompting Teddy Mayer to say: 'The worm has turned!'
Then there is the timeframe. Mayer has a little over five months between launching his campaign and election day; a very short period to try and garner support from all around the world.
It was too much of a task for rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr., who opted against launching a campaign, chiefly due to his racing demands. Ben Sulayem, by contrast, effectively started his re-election campaign the day he took office almost four years ago.
Yet the decision to only announce the campaign now was deliberate. Mayer and his team wanted to wait until the latest FIA General Assembly took place in Macau, which — barring the calling of any extraordinary, unscheduled meetings — was the final time that any further changes could be made to the statutes.
Mayer therefore knows exactly the ground upon which he will fight Ben Sulayem.
'If you read the regulations in the statutes and that have been published on the FIA website, certainly the deck is stacked in favor of the incumbent,' Mayer said. 'And that's deliberately so. These statute changes over the last four years have deliberately been made to centralize power in one office.'
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Mayer's task now is to speak to each of the 245 clubs, many of whom will have a very simple question: what's in it for us? For all the question marks over Ben Sulayem's presidency to date, if they can feel a material benefit since he took charge, then changing their minds will be difficult. The views of the most prominent figures and bodies in global motorsport, such as the 10 F1 teams and F1 itself, are irrelevant when it comes to the final ballot.
During a news conference on Friday at the British Grand Prix, questions were put to three team principals about Mayer's announcement. All three demurred when asked for direct comment — McLaren CEO Zak Brown said he had only seen the headline, but that he likes Mayer.
'Likewise, I read it this morning,' said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. 'Ultimately, it's nothing to do with the team. It's all to do with the different motoring clubs. So yeah, there's a process and obviously we'll follow with interest.'
Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell added: 'He's got racing heritage, racing in his blood, and the FIA process will carry through and we'll find out in December.'
For Mayer, there is the belief he can do more than just get into contention with Ben Sulayem – that he can defeat him.
'I'm not starting this without a clear expectation that not only are we going to make the ballot, but that we're going to win it,' Mayer said.
'There is too much at stake to start this process without real confidence that we can do this. The deck is stacked, but we know the game. We know what the rules are. We know where the challenges will lie. I think this will be an interesting five months for all of us.'
Five months that, given their ramifications, will surely define the four years to follow.
(Top photo of Tim Mayer and Lando Norris and Mohammed Ben Sulayem:, SIPA USA)
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