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Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
American Mayer announces candidacy for FIA president
SILVERSTONE, England, July 4 (Reuters) - American Tim Mayer announced on Friday he will stand against Emirati incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem in a December vote for president of the FIA, motorsport's world governing body. The 59-year-old, who served as a Formula One steward until last year, is the son of former McLaren team principal Teddy Mayer. "I believe I am the right person, at the right time, in the right place," Mayer told a press conference at a hotel near Silverstone, the British Grand Prix circuit. He added that he had been working on his campaign for six months. "What I see is a failure in leadership right now," he said. "Instead of reform, we've seen performance. Behind the stagecraft, we've been left with the illusion of progress; and the illusion of leadership, while the most senior team he appointed has departed." Mayer said last November he had been dismissed as a steward via text message by an assistant to Ben Sulayem. The FIA disputes that detail. The American said standing was not an act of revenge but about driving the organisation forward -- with his campaign branded FIAforward. There was no immediate response from the FIA. Ben Sulayem, who has made much of returning the governing body to profit, has been a controversial figure since his election in 2021. There have been battles with Liberty Media over commercial matters and accusations of sexism, and there has been a high turnover of senior staff. Critics also say statute changes , approved by FIA members, limit the powers of audit and ethics committees and make it harder for rivals to stand against him. Mayer 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 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.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lewis Hamilton sets pace in first practice to aid hopes of ending podium drought
Lewis Hamilton raised hopes of ending his podium drought at Silverstone this weekend by setting the pace in opening practice for the British Grand Prix. Hamilton has a remarkable record at his home race, winning a record nine times at Silverstone including victory in the rain last year. The 40-year-old has also finished in the top three in all of his last 11 appearances here but is yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari colours. The Scuderia delivered an improved performance in Austria last weekend, with Charles Leclerc third ahead of Hamilton in fourth. Hamilton, whose streak of 11 races without a podium finish is the longest of his career – continued that progress by finishing 0.023 seconds ahead of compatriot Lando Norris. Norris trails McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 15 points in the championship standings following his victory in Austria and is bidding to secure back-to-back Formula One wins for the first time. The 25-year-old has his own grandstand at Silverstone, hosting 10,000 of his fans, and they would have enjoyed seeing a British duo at the top of the standings during Friday's opening running. Piastri was third fastest, 0.150sec off the pace, ahead of Leclerc in fourth. Max Verstappen, who is now 61 points behind Piastri in the standings after his first-lap elimination in Austria, again complained about handling issues with his Red Bull. The four-time world champion was only 10th fastest British driver Arvid Lindblad drove the other Red Bull during first practice – becoming only the second driver under 18 to take part in a Grand Prix weekend, after Verstappen. The 17-year-old delivered a respectable lap time to finish 13th. George Russell, whose future has dominated talk ahead of the weekend, was fifth for Mercedes. Second practice gets under way at 1600 BST.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tesla sales grow again as EVs account for a quarter of car sales in June
Latest new car sales figures show a sharp increase in the take-up of electric cars with 46,354 new EVs registered during June, an increase of 39.1 per cent on June 2024. That means a quarter of all cars sold in June were fully electric. So far in 2025, 224,841 electric cars have been registered, accounting for 21.6 per cent of the entire car market. Even though that represents over 34.6per cent growth year-on-year, that still falls short of the government target of 28 per cent market share for EVs in 2025. Tesla returned to the top of the EV sales charts with sales up 14 per cent year-on year. Deliveries of the new Tesla Model Y have started to come on stream with 4,181 of them delivered to new owners in June. Deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 also picked up with 3,538 sold. Although the overall van market has declined so far in 2025, demand for electric vans has grown by a massive 52.8 per cent. However, that also falls well behind the government's ZEV Mandate target for vans of 16 per cent for 2025. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, 'A second consecutive month of growth for the new car market is good news, as is the positive performance of EVs. That EV growth, however, is still being driven by substantial industry support with manufacturers using every channel and unsustainable discounting to drive activity, yet it remains below mandated levels. As we have seen in other countries, government incentives can supercharge the market transition, without which the climate change ambitions we all share will be under threat.'
