Something is wrong within the Formula 1 management team, and President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has become the central figure of the recent controversies. The recent incident of drivers swearing made it seem like Sulayem wants to stamp his authority over the sport’s functioning. However, the firing of senior race directors and stewards has caught everyone’s eye. Especially after Tim Mayer accused Sulayem of consolidating power and interfering with the steward panels’ decisions during race days.

Tim Mayer feels that Ben Sulayem has a personal vendetta against him for heading the appeal process for COTA after being fined €500,000 by FIA.

Tim Mayer believes Ben Sulayem is still not over the COTA appeals process

Mayer’s firing has been the fourth one in a row. Deputy Formula 2 race director Janett Tan, former F1 race director Niels Wittich, and FIA compliance office Paolo Basarri have all fallen out of favor with the FIA President. It is hard to believe that these departures were pre-planned, as they all held senior positions within the F1 paddock. Mayer began working with Formula 1 for 15 years ago, but for the October race in COTA, he represented the United States Grand Prix in the role of sporting organizer. At the end of the race, a large group of spectators entered the racetrack on the start-finish line while the drivers were running the cool-down laps after the end of the race.

FIA stated that about 200 people from the opposite grandstand had climbed the fence and dropped down two meters, clearing the catch fence and barrier to enter the track. This was a breach of the FIA’s safety protocols, and the organizers and US Race Management reported it to the FIA’s race steward office. In the aftermath of the event, FIA handed a €500,000 fine, €350,000 of which is suspended until December 2026, provided such incidents do not repeat.

Well, Mayer at the time oversaw the right to review the fine and penalty for the organizers of the United States Grand Prix. It’s what may have caused the friction between him and Ben Sulayem, according to Mayer. But the most disappointing part of his departure was that he received a text message from Sulayem’s assistant. This was seen as a sign of disrespect by Tim Mayer. “For a federation that relies on volunteers to fire by text somebody who has made a significant contribution does not speak well of the management of the federation. The official reason that will be given is they felt there was a conflict of interest with the FIA as I had led the right of review in my role as organizer,” Mayer was quoted saying via BBC.

He also took jabs at the FIA President for being salty over his stance at COTA representing the United States Grand Prix. “In spite of the matter being resolved quietly and amicably, he’s still upset and decided to fire me. After 15 years of volunteering my time as a steward, a decade teaching other stewards, and hundreds of hours volunteering in other roles. I got a text from one of his assistants. I didn’t write that part of the document, but it was my job to present it,” he added.

What’s ironic is that there was a similar incident earlier in the season. During the Canadian GP, there was a fan invasion on the track. As per article 12.2.1.h, that’s a “failure to take reasonable measures, thus resulting in an unsafe situation.” As part of the consequences, the FIA demanded a formal remediation plan and warned that another violation would come with financial penalties. Similarly, when an incident of track invasion occurred during the 2023 Australian GP and reached Nico Hulkenberg’s car, promoters of the race faced the heat from the FIA. It seems Mayer and the COTA team got the short end of the stick when it came to track invasions.

That’s not all. With drivers swearing to be a massive controversy, the FIA took notice. Mayer also stated that it was the FIA President who engineered the policy and rules to penalize drivers for swearing.

Is the FIA President trying to run the show on his terms?

The stewards panel is an independent body that oversees the race. Penalties and fines fall under their jurisdiction, but Ben Sulayem has been getting more and more involved with stewards and their decision-making process. We saw Max Verstappen being hit with a community service punishment after swearing in Singapore. Moreover, Ferrari star Charles Leclerc found himself in deep waters with a fine of €10,000 for swearing in the race in Mexico.

Well, this wasn’t a directive by the steward panel on the race day, but rather the FIA president trying to impose his rule on the drivers, according to Mayer. “His view is that the drivers need to be penalised for swearing, and what has happened since reflects that… Most drivers, English is their second, third, or fourth language, and every go-kart kid in the world, it’s the first word they are taught in English. There are other ways to handle that kind of thing unless your desire is to flex your muscles.” Mayers went on to add.

Verstappen was shocked to hear that he was penalized, and he’s now open to the idea of doing the interview differently. “I find it of course ridiculous what happened, so why should I then give full answers? Because it’s very easily apparent you get a fine or some kind of penalty. So I prefer not to speak a lot; save my voice. We can do the interviews also somewhere else if you need some answers or questions asked.” The 2024 F1 champion stated.

With the way things are going, it’s certainly not painting a good image of Formula 1 as a premier racing series. Who knows, there could be more changes or departures given the current situation.