Tim Mayer attacks Ben Sulayem: "I was fired by SMS, at this rate there will be no one left"

Today at 03:14 AM

The eve of the Qatar Grand Prix saw another twist, with Tim Mayer, the U.S. delegate, dismissed by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Mayer did not hesitate to express his opinion, explaining what has recently gone wrong at the FIA, the President's decisions, and why he was removed.

For each race, a commission of stewards is assigned to act as an independent body overseeing the event. However, Tim Mayer explained that Mohammed Ben Sulayem has expressed his views “not directly to the stewards, but through his staff.” Mayer also revealed that the controversial decision to penalize drivers for swearing was initiated by the FIA president.

Max Verstappen was punished with community service for uttering inappropriate language during the Singapore GP, while Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000, half of which was suspended, for doing the same during the press conference after the Mexican GP.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s crackdown on swearing
Mayer told BBC Sport: “His [Ben Sulayem’s] opinion that drivers should be penalized for swearing – that's his view, and what has happened since reflects that. There have been times when he has directly pushed to make his opinions known, not directly to the stewards but through his staff. Part of the stewards' job is to enforce FIA policy on the rules.”

“Technically, using inappropriate language is prohibited. Whether it makes sense to go after drivers for a relatively mild curse is another matter.”

“For most drivers, English is their second, third, or fourth language, and for all the karting kids around the world, it's the first word they're taught in English. There are other ways to handle such things unless the intent is to flex your muscles.”

The Fernando Alonso penalty in Saudi Arabia
Mayer’s accusations are particularly serious, following an internal investigation into the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. A whistleblower alleged that Ben Sulayem intervened to overturn a post-race penalty given to Fernando Alonso, who had received a ten-second penalty because his mechanics worked on his car while he was serving an earlier five-second penalty during the race.

In March, a whistleblower stated that Mohammed Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, FIA Vice President for Sport in the Middle East and North Africa region, who was officially present at the event, and urged him to ensure the penalty was overturned. The ten-second punishment was indeed annulled, and Alonso was allowed to keep his third-place finish.

After a review by its own commission, the FIA stated there was no evidence to support the claim, and Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared by the organization’s Ethics Committee. Meanwhile, Mayer, who had worked for the Federation for 15 years, said he learned of his dismissal on Tuesday via a message from one of Mohammed Ben Sulayem's assistants.

Fired by SMS
“The fact that a Federation that relies on volunteers fires someone who has made significant contributions via text message does not reflect well on its management.” Speaking about the reasons for his dismissal, Mayer said he believes it was because Ben Sulayem took offense following an appeal by the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) officials after a track invasion by fans. Mayer oversaw the U.S. Grand Prix organizers’ review process after they were fined €500,000, with €350,000 suspended, following the end-of-race track invasion.

Mayer, in his other role as a sporting organizer, sought to have the official sanction rewritten to remove any implication of negligence by COTA. He was immediately excluded from the stewards' commission for the São Paulo Grand Prix before being dismissed this week, citing that Mohammed Ben Sulayem viewed the appeal as somehow “a personal attack.”

Mayer stated: “The official reasoning they will give is that they believed there was a conflict of interest with the FIA since I led the review process in my role as an organizer. But that is not why I was fired. Being an organizer is a role I've held, to the benefit of the FIA, for over 12 years. It's nothing new.”

“Even though the matter was resolved amicably and peacefully, he remains upset and decided to fire me. After 15 years of volunteering as a steward, a decade of teaching other stewards, and hundreds of hours volunteering in other roles, I received a message from one of his assistants. There was never any intent to create a problem with the FIA, and I will continue as a sporting organizer for the three U.S. Grands Prix. It was such a minor issue that it's baffling someone could feel so personally offended.”

At this rate, there will be no one left
Mayer’s departure comes after Janette Tan was inexplicably removed from her role as deputy race director for Formula 2. The exits of Mayer and Tan add to a growing list of resignations among senior officials in F1's governing body in the past month. Former F1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA compliance chief Paolo Basarri have also left their roles, while over the past year, the Federation has lost Sporting Director Tim Nielsen, Technical Director Tim Goss, CEO Natalie Robyn, Women's Commission head Deborah Mayer, Mobility Secretary General Jacob Bangsgaard, and Communications Director Luke Skipper.

Mayer explained why Tan’s departure is problematic for the FIA, especially since Marques will have to oversee not only F1 but also F2 and the F1 Academy this weekend: “She [Tan] embodies the kind of person we want working for the FIA, the best of the next generation of race directors. I don't know the circumstances, but it's reasonable to think they'd go to great lengths to retain someone of her caliber. I know how tough both jobs are. I like Rui a lot, but he'll be under incredible pressure.”

“There aren't many platinum-level FIA race directors, which is the highest level of FIA certification. I'm one of them. It's a very demanding job. They're not doing themselves any favors. They're literally running out of people to do these jobs.”

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