Motor racing-American Mayer announces candidacy for FIA president
The 59-year-old, a former Formula One steward and son of former McLaren principal Teddy Mayer, left the FIA last November.
He said then that he had been fired via text message by an assistant to Ben Sulayem. The FIA dispute that he was sacked by text.
"What I see is a failure in leadership right now," he told a press conference at a hotel near the British Grand Prix circuit Silverstone, adding that he had been working on his campaign for six months.
He described his bid as a Herculean task with the deck stacked in Ben Sulayem's favour, given recent statute changes, and only five months to campaign and win votes from member federations.
Mayer did not say who would be on his presidential list, a requirement for standing, which he admitted still had some open positions.
He said he had good support from Motorsport UK and had informed Stefano Domenicali, chief executive of Liberty Media-owned Formula One, of his plans.
"The job now is to go out and explain to lots of small clubs around the world ... why we can do a better job," said Mayer. "Explaining how we can bring value and restructure the FIA to do a better job.
"I do feel restructuring needs to happen."
Ben Sulayem, an Emirati, has already announced he is seeking a second term and until Friday had no declared opponent, with Spain's double world rally champion Carlos Sainz Sr. recently deciding not to stand.
Mayer said he would have stood even if Sainz had decided to run. He also dismissed any suggestion of a conflict of interest regarding the historic family connection with McLaren.
The FIA is the governing body for F1, the world rally championship and Formula E among other series.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Leclerc leads final British GP practice for Ferrari at Silverstone
FERRARI sent McLaren a reminder of their pace in final practice for the British Grand Prix on Saturday with Charles Leclerc fastest. The Monaco-born driver lapped the Silverstone circuit on an overcast, gusty and much cooler afternoon than Friday with a best time of one minute 25.498 seconds. McLaren's Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri was second quickest, 0.068 seconds slower, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third. The session was twice red flagged, once when Oliver Bearman's Haas shed some bodywork and in the final seconds when Gabriel Bortoleto spun on a kerb and bounced across the grass with the car's front left suspension smashed. The final stoppage put paid to anyone trying to improve on Leclerc's time, including Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton who ended up only 11th. Hamilton had been quicker than Leclerc in the first two sectors before aborting the final one after the red flags were waved as a result of Bearman's debris on track. McLaren's Lando Norris, 15 points adrift of Piastri after 11 of 24 rounds, was fourth fastest with Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda fifth. Bearman, who ended up sixth, crashed in a bizarre accident at the end while entering the pitlane -- smashing the nose and front wing when he hit the barriers and blaming cold brakes. Alex Albon was seventh for Williams, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar and teammate Liam Lawson completing the top 10. Aston Martin said neither of their drivers had managed to do a representative lap on the fastest soft tyre due to the red flags. Qualifying for Sunday's race, Hamilton's first at home in Ferrari colours, follows later in the afternoon. Seven-times world champion Hamilton, a record nine times British GP winner, won last year for Mercedes. - Reuters
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Djokovic targets 100th Wimbledon win as Swiatek eyes breakthrough
NOVAK DJOKOVIC can secure his 100th victory at Wimbledon on Saturday as the Serb sets his sights on tennis immortality, while Iga Swiatek seeks to take advantage of the mass exodus of women's seeds. Seeking a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam crown, Djokovic is making his 20th appearance at Wimbledon and is aiming to reach the fourth round for the 17th time. The seven-time champion, locked with the long-retired Margaret Court on 24 majors, dropped a set in his opening match but lost just five games in total in the second round against British wildcard Dan Evans. A third-round clash against Serbian Davis Cup team-mate Miomir Kecmanovic will hold few fears for the sixth seed, who has not lost against his 49th-ranked compatriot in three previous meetings. If Djokovic beats his compatriot he will reach a century of victories at the All England Club, a feat only surpassed by eight-time champion Roger Federer, who won 105 times on the lawns of southwest London and Martina Navratilova, who chalked up 120 victories. 'If I play like this, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody, really, on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, a place where I maybe feel the most comfortable on any court,' Djokovic said after beating Evans. Djokovic's first Wimbledon win came against Argentine Juan Monaco 20 years ago, when Kecmanovic was aged just five. 'I saw him first at the Serbian Open and he was my idol. The more I played, the more I saw what he could do on court and the more I admired,' Kecmanovic said. Swiatek has quietly gone about her business at this year's Wimbledon but will have watched the exit of most of her top rivals with interest. The five-time Grand Slam champion is seeded eighth at the All England club after slipping down the rankings, though she is now back in the world's top four after reaching the Bad Homburg final last week. - Sinner in the groove - The Pole, who faces American Danielle Collins in the third round, has won at least one Grand Slam in four of the past five years, though she has never been beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club. But a glance at the draw makes interesting reading, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the only player remaining from among the top six seeds. Swiatek, who has won four titles on the French Open clay, was beaten by former Australian Open finalist Collins at the Italian Open in May. Collins, 31, postponed her retirement in October when ranked ninth in the world but has tumbled to 54th in the rankings after an inconsistent season. Defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova, 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and highly rated teenager Mirra Andreeva will also be looking to reach the last 16. Russian seventh seed Andreeva meets American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste and Rybakina, seeded 11th plays Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson. Krejcikova faces American 10th seed Emma Navarro of the United States. World number one Jannik Sinner has barely broken sweat so far as he settles in on grass following his painful defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, where he squandered three championship points. The Italian top seed has played two matches so far and lost just 12 games in easing past Luca Nardi and Aleksandar Vukic. On Saturday the 23-year-old meets Spain's Pedro Martinez, whom he beat in their only meeting in 2022. - AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Verstappen's future uncertain as Horner hints at Red Bull cycles
MAX VERSTAPPEN has a contract with Red Bull to 2028 but the chances of the four-times Formula One world champion seeing it out are looking increasingly slim with team boss Christian Horner accepting next year, if not this, could be make or break. Speaking at the British Grand Prix, Horner confirmed the existence of performance-related clauses that the sport's most sought-after driver can activate to leave early. While Verstappen might be able to trigger them in a matter of weeks, according to some sources, it would be a gamble with a major chassis and engine change -- the biggest for decades -- coming in 2026. One popular view in the paddock, despite constant speculation about a move to Mercedes, is that the Dutch 27-year-old is more likely to wait and see which way the wind is blowing before deciding for 2027. '2026 is going to be a transformational year. It's the biggest rule change in Formula One probably in the last 50 years where both chassis and power unit are being introduced at the same time,' said Horner. 'Nobody, with hand on heart, can know what the pecking order is going to be... It could be Ferrari. It could be Mercedes. It could be anyone. 'It'll only be really this time next year that you'll have a clear indication of what that pecking order is. So, there are no guarantees that jumping into a Mercedes car would automatically be a better proposition.' VETTEL EXAMPLE That said, and despite claiming Verstappen wanted to see out his career at Red Bull, Horner offered a history lesson to illustrate that Red Bull was prepared for change regardless. He recalled how Sebastian Vettel, another four-times Red Bull world champion, had joined Ferrari a year after a major rule change in 2014 had begun an era of Mercedes domination and Red Bull struggled with an uncompetitive Renault engine. 'I remember (the late Red Bull co-owner) Dietrich Mateschitz telling me at the time 'We don't need the best driver if we don't have the best car',' said Horner. 'At that stage, it was about building a team... things go in cycles and sport goes in cycles.' Red Bull seem to be already in just such a cycle, their 2023 domination slipping away last year along with design genius Adrian Newey, now at Aston Martin. The Honda engines are going the same way from 2026. Highly influential engineering head Rob Marshall is at champions McLaren while Red Bull's veteran consultant Helmut Marko is 82. Vettel has already been mentioned as a possible replacement. Horner's own position has been questioned, with Verstappen's father calling last year for him to go after allegations of misconduct were made by a female employee. The Briton denied them and was cleared after an investigation. 'We've had two incredibly successful cycles in Formula One, and what we want to do is build towards the next cycle,' said Horner, who also sang the praises of 17-year-old talent Arvid Lindblad. 'Now, of course, we want that to be with Max, but we understand the pressure that there is next year, with us coming in as a new power unit manufacturer. The challenge of that is enormous.' Red Bull are building their own engine, bringing everything under one roof in a bold move against major manufacturers with vast resources and years of experience in the field. 'To expect us to be ahead of Mercedes next year... it would be embarrassing for Mercedes if we were, or for any manufacturer,' said Horner. 'But I think we're going to be in a competitive position, potentially even to where we are today relative to our other PU (power unit) manufacturers. There's everything to play for.'
