FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Andretti's F1 bid

From day one, it has not been an easy assignment. Ben Sulayem inherited the fallout from the controversial ending to the volatile 2021 season when a highly contentious call from then FIA race director Michael Masi allowed Max Verstappen to win the first of his now three drivers' titles with a last-lap overtake on Lewis Hamilton.

The situation was difficult to handle in its own way, leading to Masi's eventual departure, the introduction of a hopefully more robust stewardship, and the introduction of a programme designed to create a pathway for future race directors and officials. Whilst that incident attracted the harshest of spotlights, behind the scenes within the FIA's corridors of power, Ben Sulayem has also had to address the financial difficulties the organisation has found itself in. It remains an ongoing process but is being steadily managed.

In February this year, after finding his feet and putting in place the right team around him, Ben Sulayem confidently turned his firm attention to F1 again and announced an 'expressions of interest' process designed to attract at least one new team to the grid.

In his corner, Ben Sulayem had the Concorde Agreement, the tri-partite pact between the FIA, Formula 1 rightsholders, Liberty Media, and the teams, which governs numerous aspects of the sport, and makes provision for there to be up to 12 teams. What Ben Sulayem was not anticipating in making the call was for the backlash that followed.

After discussing numerous issues – the expansion of the F1 calendar, the increase in a possible fine for a driver of up to €1million, Lewis Hamilton's Qatar GP infringement for crossing a live track after crashing out at the first corner – Ben Sulayem suddenly became more animated and combative when asked about the Andretti/GM bid.

On October 2, exactly eight months after the process began, the FIA confirmed Andretti/GM was the only bidder to have passed its stringent qualifying criteria and would progress to the next phase, namely to F1 to assess the financial aspects.

In Bel Sulayem's eyes, the past few months have been beyond his belief, claiming to have been verbally attacked and criticised even at a time when he was mourning the death of his son, Saif, after he had been killed in a car accident in Dubai in early March.

"I've been through hell," proclaimed Ben Sulayem.

“I’m asking myself, ‘What did I do to deserve all of this attack in February and March? They attacked me, the day I opened the expression of interest.

“Even when my son died, they attacked me, abused me, just to break me, just because I opened for the whole world to enter.

“It was unnecessary, counterproductive, not good for business.

“They can say whatever they want. At the end of the day, I was elected to take care of the sport. Nothing goes into my pocket.

“We don’t have shareholders, we don’t have a board of directors to share the money, so my mission is different than theirs. That’s very clear.”

The obvious question was who, or what, he was referring to when he said 'they', a point he never quite answered specifically.

It is known that the majority of the teams are against, and they have made their reasons clear, believing the financial rewards they have worked hard for over the past few years as F1 has risen in global popularity would be cut with the addition of an 11th team.

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali, one of the men within whose hands the fate of Andretti/GM now rests, even publicly supported the viewpoint of the teams, arguing a new addition had to be "right for the business".

“We have a contract (the Concorde Agreement) for 12 (teams). To have 12 and say ‘No, you are not allowed’… I am here for motorsport, the spirit of the sport," stated Ben Sulayem. “They look at the money as a piece of cake and they will share it.”

Ben Sulayem made clear if F1 rejects Andretti/GM then he will open the 'expression of interest' process again, on that he is adamant.

He will, however, ultimately be astonished if Domenicali and Liberty Media opt to turn away one of the biggest names in motorsport and one of the biggest names in car manufacturing, that would use its Cadillac brand as a partner for Andretti.

"How can you refuse GM? I don’t understand. Just why?" exclaimed Ben Sulayem.

“The FIA has the right on the sporting side; FOM has the money side, but will FOM refuse? We are talking about the biggest manufacturer in the United States working with one of the biggest companies, Liberty Media, and if they don’t see it…

“If we’re talking about business, this is good for business.

"For me, I am optimistic they (FOM) will not say no, but anything can happen. I just hope they don’t say no because it is so good for business, so good to sustain motorsport.”

Ben Sulayem believes the sport should unify under the Concorde Agreement and support Andretti, who has previously stated that his arrival would only increase F1's popularity and, in turn, the pot of money to be divided.

“The teams are very important, the drivers are very important, but it’s about all of us, combined together, who make the show," he said.

“We have a role to play, FOM has, the teams have, the drivers have, and then comes the funds, that’s for sure.

“But I’m learning more, and whatever the attention (on him), it was done in no other way except to damage me because I opened the expression of interest.

“But I was doing my job, I was doing my duty. These are the rules, and we have to be transparent and fair. So we did our job. Not me as a president, but the whole FIA team.”

Now Ben Sulayem, and the sport at large, waits on Liberty Media's decision. Whatever the outcome, F1's future beyond that will be fascinating.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images