FIA facing legal trouble as Motorsport UK chair threatens action over governance

Motorsport UK chair David Richards expressed his concerns over the governance of the FIA under Mohammed Ben Sulayem's presidency and threatened to take legal action against the body. The Emirati took over the helm of the sport's governing body in 2022, after the tenure of former Ferrari manager Jean Todt.

The 63-year-old has seen himself being surrounded by controversy ever since he took over the role of President of FIA for his stances against swearing, drivers wearing jewelry, and the lack of accountability amongst several others.

Recently, the governing body barred several key members of the organization from attending the World Motorsport Council Meeting on February 18 after they refused to sign the NDA. David Richards, along with Deputy President of Sport Robert Reid, were amongst the high-profile names who were not allowed in the meeting.

Richards, who is the former team principal of Benetton and BAR F1 teams, believes that Ben Sulayem has failed to keep his promises of being a hands-off President and displaying full transparency in his governance which got him elected in the first place.

In a message to Motorsport UK members, the 72-year-old expressed his concerns about Ben Sulayem and mentioned taking legal action (via Sky Sports):

"Integrity is a core value of Motorsport UK and one that is central to who we are. These actions by the FIA are in breach of their own statutes. As a result, we have informed the FIA that unless they address the issues we've raised, we will be engaging in further legal action.

"In a year when the president will either be re-elected or a new one appointed, it is more important than ever to remind the FIA of their responsibilities and continue to hold them to account on behalf of the sport and their members worldwide, and that's what I intend to do."

Mohammed Ben Sulayem's tenure will come to a close at the end of the 2025 season with the Presidency going up for election.

David Richards chimes in on "gagging order" against him by FIA being the final straw

Motorsport UK Chair David Richards stated that he believed that what the NDA presented to him ahead of the World Motorsport Council Meeting was a "gagging order" and acted as a "final straw" for him from speaking out against the governance.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 72-year-old shed light on the difficult three years under Ben Sulayem and reflected:

"This has become increasingly worrying and the final straw for me, three weeks ago, was being asked to sign a new confidentiality agreement that I regarded as a 'gagging order'. The construction of this new confidentiality agreement does not comply with the statutes of the FIA and contradicts the promise of transparent governance we had voted for."

The sport's governing body has not given a response to the media after Richard's letter to the Motorsport UK members.