Drivers against FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem's bitter retort: "It's none of their business"

12/01/2024 10:46 AM

Mohammed Ben Sulayem seems to have taken poorly the letter from the F1 drivers’ union, which asked the FIA to treat them "like adults." The drivers also called for greater financial transparency regarding the money collected from fines.

The recent dismissal of several Federation members has only fueled rumors of a significant rift within the governing body of Formula 1.

President Mohammed Ben Sulayem addressed these speculations in an interview with Motorsport.com. When asked about the recent comments from the GPDA, he responded explicitly:

"It's none of their business. I'm sorry. With all due respect, they are drivers. I respect the drivers. Let them go and focus on what they do best, which is driving. Do you want to know how much we paid as a base? I'll tell you: 10.3 million [euros], which we invested last year. I think that's a lot of money. In '24, so far, over 10 million. Again, for base investments. In karting."

More than 10.3 million euros were spent on grassroots development in 85 countries, with funding for 70 motorsport safety projects underway at a cost of 2.7 million euros. Additional investments include operational safety, medical costs, and 13 projects related to technical regulations.

"This is our business," Mohammed Ben Sulayem continued when asked about recent events. "We will do everything that is good for the FIA. So it's really nobody's business to interfere in ours. It's the results we produce that matter."

Pressed particularly by drivers seeking answers on why Niels Wittich was dismissed with three races remaining, Mohammed Ben Sulayem replied:

"Do we have to tell them? When something changes within a team, do they tell us? No, they don't. Nobody needs to. We have our rules; we follow our rules. We don't follow anyone else's rules. It's as simple as that." -the FIA president concluded.

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