Bernie Ecclestone defends Mohammed Ben Sulayem, claims critics ‘don’t understand ‘the FIA President

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Armaan Agarwal | Last updated 1/19/24

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has faced backlash since taking the reigns two years ago. The 62-year-old’s tenure has been riddled with controversy including escalating tensions with F1. Ben Sulayem has not been afraid of making bold calls as FIA President including the process of accepting new F1 team bids. Now, former F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone has stood firmly alongside the Emirati.

Ecclestone mentioned that Mohammed Ben Sulayem had taken a different approach than his predecessors. Although the former F1 CEO reckoned that he would’ve done things in a similar manner to the 62-year-old. Bernie Ecclestone claimed that Ben Sulayem was a simple individual who simply wanted to do things that were good for the sport.

He does things differently compared to how they were done before, he also does things differently than I would have. In my eyes, he is a simple man who wants the best for sports. Bernie Ecclestone told SportBild

The 93-year-old was convinced that Ben Sulayem had a bad reputation as his critics did not understand his decisions as the FIA President. Moreover, Ecclestone understood that the 62-year-old was on a learning curve himself. As the FIA President figured out F1 team bosses are different than how he expected them to be.

His bad reputation comes from people who don't understand him. He is learning that the people who lead a team in Formula 1 are different from what he thought

Tensions continue between Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1

The FIA President went against the will of Formula One Management in accepting new bids. The 62-year-old argued that the sport should fill vacant slots on the grid. On the other hand, the teams reckoned that a newcomer should rather acquire or partner with an existing team due to the sport’s recent commercial growth.

Nevertheless, Mohammed Ben Sulayem remained undeterred. The FIA accepted Andretti-Cadillac‘s bid for the sport’s eleventh team. Although, the all-American entry needs to come to a commercial agreement with F1 to actually join the grid. Ben Sulayem had even called out a rumored $20 billion F1 valuation as an exaggeration.

Certainly, things are tense between Mohammed Ben Sulayem and FOM. However, both parties would need to set aside their differences to prevent any issues in the long run. Ben Sulayem has taken a firm stance as the FIA President. Although, the FIA is in discussions with F1 to ensure that the two parties can find common ground soon.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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