Ben Sulayem Pushes To Scrap FIA Presidential Term Limits

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has proposed repealing the article within the governing body’s statutes that places a limit on presidential terms.
Under the current rules, Article 20.10 of the FIA’s statutes states that “the President of the FIA may not serve more than three terms of office, whether consecutive or not, i.e. a maximum duration of 12 years.”
Ben Sulayem is currently serving his second term having run unopposed in last year’s election, meaning he would have one further term remaining under the existing rules.
BBC Sport first reported that Ben Sulayem was seeking to remove the term limit, a development subsequently verified by Autosport, which also approached the FIA directly for comment.
Removing the restriction would allow Ben Sulayem, or any future president, to continue standing for election indefinitely rather than being bound by a fixed maximum tenure.
A spokesperson for the FIA framed the proposal as an effort to align the presidential role with other elected positions across the organisation’s structures.
“A proposal has been put forward to establish a consistent approach to tenure across all FIA bodies, similar to what currently exists for the World Councils and the Senate,” the statement read.
“The proposal is subject to approval by the World Councils and by the General Assembly. FIA bodies retain full authority to democratically elect officeholders.”
The proposed changes to the FIA’s statutes, including the removal of the presidential term limit, will be put to a vote at the next General Assembly.
Term limits for the FIA presidency were introduced under Jean Todt’s tenure, which itself lasted 12 years, and were designed in part to prevent the lengthy presidencies seen in earlier eras.
Prior to Todt, Max Mosley had served as FIA president for 16 years, while Jean-Marie Balestre stood down after two four-year terms.
Ben Sulayem’s path to re-election last year was notably uncontested, as none of his challengers were able to satisfy the nomination requirements to formally stand as candidates.
Candidates were required to nominate seven vice-presidents, two from Europe and one each from the remaining global regions defined by the FIA, in order to qualify for the presidential run-off.
Fabiana Ecclestone was the only available representative from South America during the election process, and she had aligned herself with Ben Sulayem’s campaign rather than any challenger.
Former FIA steward Tim Mayer, racing driver Laura Villars, and journalist Virginie Philippot all attempted to challenge Ben Sulayem during the previous election but none were ultimately eligible to stand.
Villars has since taken legal action against the FIA in connection with the electoral process, adding further scrutiny to the governing body’s governance procedures.
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