FIA president under fire over handling alleged sexism
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A string of instances deemed badly handled by the president of the F1's governing body led to widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership.
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FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem at Formula One F1 -Abu Dhabi Grand Pix- Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Mohammed ben Sulayem, the head of Formula One's governing body, the FIA, is under fire again following allegations of sexism inside his organization. The complaints were not taken seriously, according to The Guardian, and are the latest in a string of instances deemed badly handled by Ben Sulayem, leading to widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership in the F1 paddock.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Shaila-Ann Rao, the FIA's former interim secretary general for motorsport who abruptly left the organization last December, sent a letter to Ben Sulayem and the president of the FIA senate, Carmelo Sanz de Barros, detailing instances of sexist behavior at the FIA and complaining that the complaint was not properly investigated.
The existence of the complaint was confirmed by a top source inside the sport. The FIA, on the other hand, released a reply, indicating that it took the claims seriously and had followed protocols.
According to the statement, "With regards to the specific allegations surrounding Shaila-Ann Rao, due process was followed, with an amicable negotiation conducted by the president of the senate and, as such, no referrals were made to the ethics committee. As previously stated, both parties agreed she would leave her position in November 2022 and mutual privacy terms were agreed as is common business practice."
“With regards to the other allegations, there have been no complaints received against the president. Should the FIA ethics committee or compliance officer receive any complaint from a member of staff it will be dealt with in a comprehensive manner by our panel of independent elected ethics committee members which has been in place since 2012.”
'An open and running joke'
The row is the latest in a string of issues for Ben Sulayem, which has eroded public trust in the 61-year-old from the UAE. According to a source close to the situation, "he is, sadly, an open and running joke in the paddock."
Ben Sulayem had previously been accused of sexism after remarks from his old personal website from more than 20 years ago became public, in which he declared that he did "not like women who think they are smarter than men … for they are not, in truth”.
The FIA responded by noting that the remark did not reflect the president's current opinions, but Ben Sulayem did not issue an official statement or apologize.
Ben Sulayem's relationship with F1's owners has deteriorated, not least when he made public statements doubting the sport's financial viability, to which F1 reacted aggressively with a legal letter, warning him that he had interfered with their rights in an "unacceptable" manner. His early resistance to the rise in sprint races was problematic, as was the FIA's emphasis on police the letter of the law with respect to Lewis Hamilton wearing jewelry while racing. Both objectives were said to have been directly pushed by Ben Sulayem.
The FIA's investigation into the contentious decision at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that decided the championship that season was also dismissed as ineffective, and its decision to crack down on drivers expressing their views on social and political issues has been met with condemnation from both within and outside the sport.
