According to a media report, the FIA wants to change the rules for the presidential election—to the detriment of new candidates such as Carlos Sainz Sr.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is once again in the spotlight, this time due to possible rule changes ahead of the presidential election in December. According to reports by the BBC, incumbent president Mohammed bin Sulayem plans to push through a series of changes to the statutes that could potentially disadvantage or even exclude rival candidates.
At the heart of the planned changes is bringing forward the deadline for announcing a candidacy for the presidency. This would particularly affect potential new candidates such as Carlos Sainz Sr. that the two-time world rally champion is seriously considering running for office.
If Sainz decides to run for election, the new plans would require him to seek the necessary support from voting member clubs much earlier than before, which could significantly reduce his chances of success.
Integrity clause could pose further hurdle
In addition to this change, the BBC reports that another clause is to be introduced stipulating that members of a presidential list “must not have anything in their past that calls their professional integrity into question.” The FIA’s code of ethics also states that all those involved must “avoid conflicts of interest and disclose potential conflicts.”
Since Carlos Sainz Sr. is the father of the Williams Formula 1 driver of the same name, this could be considered a conflict of interest by the ethics committee. Which could lead to exclusion from the election.
According to the BBC, the official reason for the planned changes is to “create consistency between terms of office and consolidate elections.” However, critics see this as an attempt to deliberately slow down potential challengers.
