Former Mercedes lawyer leaves role as interim FIA Secretary General

Normally, the announcement of a replacement for the position of Secretary General of Motor Sport within the International Automobile Federation (FIA) would have gone unnoticed. But the departure of Shaila-Ann Rao, announced this Wednesday, November 23 by the FIA, leaves a scent of suspicion among the detractors of Mercedes

Indeed, Shaila-Ann Rao was the former lawyer for the Mercedes team in F1 between December 2018 and June 2022, before moving to the FIA ​​in June 2022. A company that she had already worked with as Legal Manager between May 2016 and December 2018.

“Shaila-Ann Rao has returned to the FIA ​​to help the new presidential team during the transition period as interim general secretary for motorsport,” can we read in the FIA ​​press release.

“Shaila-Ann has successfully managed this transition period, providing valuable support and assistance to the FIA ​​President and the organization during this period which is now drawing to a close. »

Shaila-Ann Rao notably had the task of verifying the smooth running of the cap budget with the 10 F1 teams by analyzing their financial results for the 2021 season. Such work, linked to the presentation of a penalty of 7 million dollars has Red Bull, aroused suspicions of bias among rival Mercedes teams.

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