Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “I will be the president of common sense and justice”

In charge of motorsport affairs since his election on December 17, 2021, the new president of the FIA, present at the Monaco Grand Prix, chose the columns of AUTOhebdo to give one of his first interviews and expose the plan of route of his mandate.

Published on 04/06/2022 à 17:00

⁰ View comments)

Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “I will be the president of common sense and justice”

Mohammed Ben Sulayem © Jun Qian

When you were playing at the highest level of rally, could you then imagine being at the head of the FIA one day?

No, I was then too busy with my driving, which was my obsession. I just wanted to go fast and I loved it. Then I started winning, and winning again. The pleasure of winning gradually transformed into fear of losing. The combination of these two feelings carried me through for fifteen years (14 Middle East Rally Championship titles between 1986 and 2002. Editor's note) until I started to think that perhaps life had more to offer than flying. (Laughs) I thought I could feed my passion in another way, by putting myself at the service of my sport. I was really inspired by Max Mosley (President of the FIA from 1993 to 2009. Editor's note) who supported the Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (of which Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been president since 2006. Editor’s note). In the Middle East, the sport developed with the arrival of the circuits of Bahrain, then Abu Dhabi and, over the years, the idea of competing for the presidency of the FIA took hold.

You are the first president from the Middle East, even the first non-European president. Is it a source of pride? An additional responsibility?

Both ! We talk a lot about diversity, but what's the point of talking about it if we don't implement it? Our Federation is 70 years old, it has 244