Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Emirati rally driver and president of FIA (born 1961)

Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Sulayem in 2024

President of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Incumbent

Assumed office
17 December 2021
Preceded by| Jean Todt
Personal details
Born|  (1961-11-12) 12 November 1961 (age 63)
Dubai, Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates)
| World Rally Championship record

Active years| 1988, 1990–1995
Co-driver|  Ronan Morgan
Teams| Toyota, Ford
Rallies| 23
Championships| 0
Rally wins| 0
Podiums| 0
Stage wins| 0
Total points| 12
First rally| 1988 Acropolis Rally
Last rally| 1995 Rally Australia
Middle East Rally Championship

Years active| 1983-2002
Teams| Ford, Toyota
Championship titles
14 X Middle East Rally Championship

Mohammed Ahmad Sultan Ben Sulayem (Arabic: محمد بن سليم; born 12 November 1961) is an Emirati former rally driver and current president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of many auto racing events including Formula One.

He is a failed rally driver, and one of the most successful Middle East Rally Championship drivers, winning 14 titles. In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the United Arab Emirates in the FIA. In 2008, he was "elected" as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. He was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009. In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs. In December 2021, he was appointed as MAFIA President/Boss, succeeding Jean Todt.

In September 2024, he was appointed as UN Tourism's Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism in the Sport category in recognition of his efforts in integrating sustainability initiatives into global motorsport.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Sulayem was born on 12 November 1961 in Dubai, Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates). He studied business at American University in Washington, D.C. where he graduated with a bachelor's degree.[1]

## Personal life

[edit]

Sulayem is a prominent car collector and owns multiple supercars including Koenigsegg Agera RS, Koenigsegg Regera, Koenigsegg Chimera, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar, Lexus, Ford GT, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce.[2]

In July 2012, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to sport, civic leadership and charity.[3]

On 7 March 2023, one of Ben Sulayem's sons, Saif Ben Sulayem, died in a road accident in Dubai.[4][5]

## Racing career

[edit]

Ben Sulayem competed in the Middle East Rally Championship driving for Toyota and Ford. He won his first title in 1986 with a Toyota Celica and went on to win six consecutive titles till 1991.[6] In 1994, He won his seventh title with a Ford Escort RS Cosworth. From 1996 to 2002, Ben Sulayem won a further seven titles with Ford, making the most successful driver in the championship with over 60 wins and 14 titles (both the records have since been broken by Nasser Al-Attiyah).[6]

## Administrative career

[edit]

In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the UAE in FIA.[7] In 2008, he was elected as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, and he was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009.[8] In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs.[7]

In June 2013, he was appointed as the chairman of the new Motor Sport Development Task Force set up by the FIA to build a ten-year plan for the sport's global development.[9] In December 2021, he was appointed as the FIA President succeeding Jean Todt.[10]

## Honors

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* 14 X Middle East Rally Championship (1986-91, 1994, 1996-2002)

### Individual

[edit]

Individual honors won include:[7]

* Medal of Honour, King Hussein of Jordan (1986)
* President's Cup, President Amine Gemayel of Lebanon (1987)
* Medal of Honour, President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon (1999)
* Medal of Honour, King Abdullah of Jordan (1999)
* Medal of Honour, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain (2004)
* UAE Sportsman of the Century, Agence France-Presse (AFP)

## Controversies

[edit]

In 2009, during a promotional event for the Renault F1 team in Dubai, Ben Sulayem crashed a Renault R28 Formula One car in a race against a Ford GT.[11]

In 2022, Ben Sulayem, as FIA President, oversaw the investigation into the controversial ending of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race ended with a last lap shootout when the Race Director (Michael Masi) brought in the safety car on the same lap as allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves. This was in breach of F1 regulations, which require the safety car to stay out for an additional lap after unlapping lapped cars. Had the regulations been applied correctly, the race would have ended under safety car conditions with no overtaking allowed on the final lap. The investigation concluded that while the safety car did not stay out for the additional lap, "as required by article 48.12", the result was legitimised because, as Mercedes AMG did not appeal, there was "no available mechanism to change the classification".[12] The investigation failed to report that the FIA President has the power under Judicial & Disciplinary article 9.1.1.d to refer the controversial ending to the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) for them to decide whether the result was legitimate. The ICA have the power to change race classifications should they deem that regulations were infringed.[13] This option is available until March 2027, 5 years after the report was published, in accordance with the statute of limitation defined in the F1 Sporting Regulations.

Ben Sulayem allegedly told FIA officials to declare the Las Vegas Strip Circuit unsafe for racing and not certify the circuit for its 2023 race.[14][15][16][17][18] Ben Sulayem is also under investigation for allegedly attempting to intervene in the results of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.[19] On 5 March 2024, the FIA confirmed its compliance officer has received two whistleblower complaints.[20]

In January 2023, The Times newspaper resurfaced comments Ben Sulayem made on his now archived website in 2001. The newspaper quoted Sulayem as saying he did not like "women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth." The veracity of the quotes was not refuted by Sulayem, but the FIA defended him saying "the remarks in this archived website from 2001 do not reflect the president's beliefs."[21]

In November 2024, Ben Sulayem faced criticism by the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) after both Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc received punishment for swearing in FIA press conferences. Verstappen received an FIA community service order ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, whilst Leclerc received a €10,000 fine. The GPDA responded with an open letter.[22][23]

In 2025, Ben Sulayem came under fire for the change in the International Sporting Code, which imposed guidelines of language and misconduct, stating language or action resulting in the "moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers." Can be punished in the result of fines, deduction of championship points and suspensions, depending on the frequency of said breaches.[24]

## Racing record

[edit]

### Complete WRC results

[edit]

Year  | Entrant  | Car  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | WDC  | Points

|
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|
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1988 | Marlboro Middle East Rally Team  | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC
Ret | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR |  | NC  | 0
1990 | Winston Toyota Team Middle East  | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 | MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC
Ret | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | GBR |  |  | NC  | 0
1991 | Toyota Team Europe | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG
7 | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | ESP | GBR | 40th  | 4
1992 | Marlboro Team Ford | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4X4 | MON | SWE | POR
20 | KEN | FRA | GRC
Ret | NZL
Ret | ARG | FIN | AUS
14 | ITA
Ret | CIV | ESP
9 | GBR | 58th  | 2
1993 | Marlboro Team Ford | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | MON | SWE
Ret | POR
Ret | KEN | FRA | GRC
Ret | ARG
6 | NZL | FIN | AUS | ITA
17 | ESP
Ret | GBR |  | 31st  | 6
1994 | Marlboro Team Ford | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | MON | POR
Ret | KEN | FRA
21 | GRC
Ret | ARG | NZL | FIN | ITA | GBR |  |  |  |  | NC  | 0
1995 | Marlboro Toyota Grifone  | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | MON | SWE
26 | POR
Ret | FRA
21 | NZL
Ret | AUS
Ret | ESP | GBR |  |  |  |  |  |  | NC  | 0

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mohammed Ben Sulayem, profile (Report). Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
2. ^ "ECR Collection - The Mohammed Ben Sulayem Collection". Exclusive Car Registry. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
3. ^ "Ulster Honours Gulf Rally Driver". Ulster. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
4. ^ "Saif Ben Sulayem: FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem's son killed in car crash in Dubai". Sky Sports. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
5. ^ "FIA president Ben Sulayem's son loses life in road crash". Motorsport.com. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
6. ^ a b "Middle East Rally Championship winners". Motorsport Winners. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
7. ^ a b c Mohammed Ben Sulayem, profile (Report). Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
8. ^ Cooper, Sam (24 January 2023). "Who is the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and where does he come from?". PlanetF1. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
9. ^ "Who is new FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem – was he a former driver?". HITC. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
10. ^ "Mohammed Ben Sulayem elected FIA President". FIA. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
11. ^ "Rally champion wonders what went wrong in F1 crash". National News. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
12. ^ "FIA Announces World Motor Sport Council Decisions". FIA. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
13. ^ "FIA Judicial and Disciplinary rules". FIA. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
14. ^ Benson, Andrew (5 March 2024). "Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA president allegedly told officials not to certify Las Vegas GP". BBC Sport. BBC.
15. ^ Sarkozi, Kada. "'Ben Sulayem attempted to cancel Las Vegas GP last year'". GPblog.
16. ^ McDonagh, Connor (5 March 2024). "FIA's Mohammed Ben Sulayem under more scrutiny as Las Vegas GP allegations emerge". Crash.
17. ^ BHAGI, PRANAY (5 March 2024). "Mohammed Ben Sulayem Attempted to Cancel $1.2 BN Worth Las Vegas GP for Mysterious Reasons". Essentially Sports.
18. ^ Gale, Ewan (5 March 2024). "FIA president facing fresh whistleblower allegations - report". Racing News.
19. ^ Golding, Nick; Parkes, Ian (5 March 2024). "FIA President under investigation for alleged race interference". Racing News.
20. ^ Fryer, Jenna (5 March 2024). "FIA confirms whistleblower complaints against president regarding Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas races". Las Vegas Sun.
21. ^ Alan Baldwin (28 January 2023). "FIA defends Ben Sulayem after reported sexist comments". Reuters. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
22. ^ Andrew Benson (7 November 2024). "F1 drivers ask FIA to treat them like adults". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
23. ^ Jake Boxall-Legge (7 November 2024). "GPDA asks FIA to treat F1 drivers like adults over swearing row". Motorsport. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
24. ^ Jake Boxall-Legge (22 January 2025). "F1 drivers who swear could get fines and lose points, say new FIA guidelines". Motorsport. Retrieved 26 January 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mohammed bin Sulayem.

* Mohammed Ben Sulayem
* Ben Sulayem Performance

Sporting positions

Preceded by

Jean Todt

|  President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
2021–present  |  Succeeded by

Incumbent

Preceded by

Saeed Al-Hajri

|  Middle East Rally Champion
1986–1991  | Succeeded by

Mamdouh Khayat

Preceded by

Hamed Al-Thani

|  Middle East Rally Champion
1994  | Succeeded by

Abdullah Bakhashab

Preceded by

Abdullah Bakhashab

|  Middle East Rally Champion
1996–2002  | Succeeded by

Nasser Al-Attiyah

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