It is claimed that FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem is seeking changes to the governing body's statutes that would give him more power.
Amidst growing concern at his authoritarian approach to the role, if successful the changes would allow the Emeriti to tighten his grip on the FIA while preventing his position from being challenged.
According to the BBC, which claims to have seen the document that contains the proposals, one states that there "must not be anything in the record of the candidates standing for election as members of the presidential list that calls into question their professional integrity".
The reasoning is that because this already applies to candidates standing for roles on the F1 cost-cap committee, and audit and ethics committees, "for the sake of consistency" it should also apply to those candidates eyeing the presidency.
Currently presidential candidates are monitored by the FIA's nominations committee and if there are any issues the matter is referred to the FIA's ethics committee. However, following controversial changes made last year, both committees are now controlled by Ben Sulayem and his 'inner circle'.
With the code of ethics dictating that parties of the FIA "shall avoid any conflicts of interest and must disclose any situation that could lead to such a conflict", this would appear to target Carlos Sainz Snr's bid for the presidency, as, opposed to what the Spaniard has claimed, his position would conflict with his son being a current F1 driver.
It is further proposed that the deadline for candidates for the presidency to declare their bid be increased from the current 21 days to 49, as this currently "leaves the nominations committee with very little time to check the eligibility of the 11 candidates (for a presidential team) proposed in a given list".
However, it is claimed that this is actually intended to give Ben Sulayem and his team more time to investigate potential candidates.
It is also proposed that changes be made to the nomination of members of the senate, which is the body that controls the FIA in combination with the president. Currently, the senate consists of 16 members, 12 of whom are defined in the statutes as representatives of the president, his team and members of the two world councils, for sport and mobility and tourism. The remaining four are currently "proposed" by the president and "confirmed by" the other 12 members.
Under the new proposals, Ben Sulayem would 'appoint' the final four members, without the other senate members having a say.
It is claimed that this is in order to allow "more flexibility in having the expertise required for the many and varied topics it has to deal with and which may require an urgent decision".
However, the statutes already contain article 18.4, which allows the senate to "invite other members to join in the study of specific questions".
In reaction to this proposal, one source told the BBC that this is "so clearly poorer governance that the boldness is surprising", while another added that: "It's a convenient way of dressing up a way where 'I can potentially get rid of these people when it suits me.'"
A further proposal would see the four-year terms of the members of the audit, ethics and nominations committees brought into line with that of the presidency, since these terms "do not necessarily start at the same time as that of the members of the presidential list".
It is argued that the need for this change is to "ensure consistency between terms of office and group these elections together", however it is argued that this simply gives "fewer options for dissent outside of a presidential cycle".
It should not be forgotten that in 2024, Ben Sulayem fired the heads of the audit and ethics committees after they were involved in an investigations into him and his office.
Finally, Ben Sulayem is seeking to change the make-up of the World Motor Sport Council.
The current rules state that 21 of the 28 legislative body's members must be of different nationalities. However, in the interests of "flexibility", Ben Sulayem is proposing "no more than two members of the same nationality among the seven vice-presidents and the 14 elected WMSC members".
While the document states the current rules could deprive the FIA of "candidates from other backgrounds whose experience and qualities could also be beneficial to the WMSC in fulfilling its missions", one critic told the BBC that it would simply allow Ben Sulayem to "stack the WMSC with the people he wants".
Admitting that the document is "very cleverly written", another source added: "It's taking a very moral high ground, or it's appearing to. Whereas the reality of it is probably less so."
Not forgetting the non-disclosure agreements row which has led to the threat of legal action from MotorsportUK boss, David Richards, and the resignation of former FIA deputy president, Robert Reid, it isn't too difficult to guess who some of those sources the BBC quotes might be. Hopefully others will now see this for what it is and speak out.
The potential challenge from Sainz Snr aside, Ben Sulayem is already under fire from a number of different directions, including legal action from Susie Wolff, however rather than looking to appease his critics - of whom there are many - he is clearly emboldened and determined to further tighten his grip.
Just wonder what Max would have made of this. And many of you thought he was authoritarian!
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