FIA crisis: Robert Reid resigns-Russell warns of instability!

FIA crisis: Robert Reid resigns-Russell warns of instability!

Ruanda, Land - The Vice President of the FIA, Robert Reid, has now declared his resignation with immediate effect. In his letter of resignation, he expressed criticism of the current development of the FIA ​​under the direction of President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Reid criticizes that decisions are increasingly being made behind closed doors and the structures of the FIA ​​are avoided. This decision is made against the background of a dispute over stricter confidentiality clauses for members of the motorsport world council, which recently caused considerable excitement. George Russell, Mercedes driver and director of the GPDA driver's union, also showed concern about the constants in the association and described the developments as frustrating and unstable, such as Derwesten reported

Reid has been an important player in the FIA ​​since his election in 2021 as Running Mate of Ben Sulayem. His resignation signals growing dissatisfaction with the orientation of the FIA. Under the leadership of Ben Sulayem, there were always tensions with Formula 1 drivers as well as numerous departures or compensation for high-ranking civil servants. Reid calls for more transparency and a stronger governance within the FIA, principles that, in his opinion, are increasingly ignored. The FIA ​​thanks in its message for Reid's work, but did not respond to the allegations.

tensions within the FIA ​​

Special attention received the recent conflicts between the FIA ​​and the Formula 1 drivers, which are related to Ben Sulayem's plans to combat swear words. From 2025, new rules apply that allow the FIA ​​to suspend drivers who repeatedly make cursing or political statements. These new regulations have already led to minimal behavior by world champion Max Verstappen at press conferences after being punished for a curse. Drivers in rally sports also started protest actions by boycotting interviews to demonstrate against a fine for a driver who had used a swear word in an interview, as from AP news is reported.

Another indication of the tensions is the case of David Richards, a British representative and colleague of Reid. He stated that he had been excluded from a meeting of the FIA ​​World Motor Sports Council because he refused to sign a document that he saw as a "silence clause". The FIA ​​did not react immediately to these incidents on inquiries about comments.

The future of the FIA ​​

Another aspect of the current event is the recently approved changes to the FIA ​​statutes, which were decided at a general assembly in Rwanda. These changes concern the roles of ethics and audit commissions and should help the FIA ​​to improve both their governance and their financial situation. Under the new requirements, the compliance officer is now assumed to both the President of the FIA ​​and the President of the Senate, while the audit commission loses authority to examine independent financial matters. Instead, she only works on request from the Senate, which is considered to be worrying by critics, including Richards and Oliver Schmerold, since the responsibility of the FIA ​​leadership is questioned.
How Motorsport.com reports three main reasons for these changes, whereby the prevention of media-leaks is in the top position.

At this point it remains to be seen how President Ben Sulayem will react to Reid's resignation and what changes this could bring about the FIA ​​and Formula 1 as a whole. The persistent unrest behind the scenes raise questions about the stability of the FIA ​​and the future direction of direction in the organization.