Tim Mayer has responded after being urged to reconsider some of his remarks made during the launch of his FIA Presidential bid.
A leading member of Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s administration at the FIA is understood to have been unhappy with comments made by Tim Mayer at the announcement of his campaign to run for the Presidency later this year, to which Mayer has offered a riposte.
What were Tim Mayer’s initial comments?
At the launch of his FIA Forward campaign ahead of the British Grand Prix, Mayer, a former chairman of the FIA stewards, confirmed his intention to stand in the FIA Presidential race later this year.
Mayer will stand against incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem when the vote is put to the FIA members at the General Assembly in Uzbekistan on December 12th, with Ben Sulayem seeking a second term in office.
In the open media session at the campaign launch, Mayer levelled accusations of the FIA creating “illusions” around itself.
“Three years ago, Mohammed Ben Sulayem ran on good ideas: value for smaller clubs, transparency, and reform. The message was right, but the delivery has failed,” he said.
“Instead of reform, we’ve seen performance behind the stagecraft. We’ve been left with the illusion of progress and the illusion of leadership, while the most senior team he appointed has departed.
“The illusion of inclusion, while capable voices, especially women and those from diverse backgrounds, were pushed out when they spoke the truth.
“The illusion of a financial turnaround, when the FIA has merely returned to pre-pandemic norms, but now with less independent oversight.
“The illusion of transparency and engagement, even as decision making grows more centralised and dissent is punished, and perhaps, most corrosive, the illusion of integrity.”
Elaborating further during an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, Mayer said that Ben Sulayem’s reign has not been based on democracy, but on “tyranny.”
Mayer’s comments were put to Ben Sulayem during a select round-table media session at Silverstone, including PlanetF1.com, to which the Emirati smiled upon hearing.
“Some people say that I evolved a thick skin; that the media doesn’t affect me. Someone said, ‘You have Teflon skin,’” he said.
Tim Mayer urged to reconsider his comments
Mayer’s comments regarding “the illusion of inclusion, especially women being pushed out” have been addressed in a letter, which has been seen by PlanetF1.com, sent to him by the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission President, Burcu Cetinkaya.
In her letter, Cetinkaya denied writing the letter as part of a campaign or political narrative and said she wrote it “personally, from the heart, as someone who has lived through these very challenges”.
As a former professional rally driver before her involvement with the FIA, Cetinkaya said that, when it comes to matters of inclusion, particularly for women and women of colour, “we have a responsibility to honour truth over perception” and that it’s important to “get the facts right”.
Cetinkaya explained that she believes “real, measurable steps” have been made in gender representation,” under Ben Sulayem’s Presidency, with appointments and policies, “changing the culture of the FIA from the inside out”.
She pointed out that the FIA Senate currently has Fatma Samoura as a current appointee, while four women, including Cetinkaya herself, hold a seat on the World Motor Sport Council; the most in the FIA’s history.
Other high-profile female appointees include the WRC Sporting Director Emilia Abel, while several FIA Commissions are now “chaired by women”, and the FIA’s high-performance stewarding programme has seen more than half the selected candidates be women.
Cetinkaya pointed to her “firsthand experience of being overlooked, underestimated, and at times, entirely unseen in this sport.
“But I also know what it feels like to finally be given space, trust, and responsibility — and that has happened under this leadership.
“We all want more. And yes, there’s still a long road ahead. But to claim that women — especially women of colour — are being pushed aside in today’s FIA is not only inaccurate, it’s deeply unfair to those of us who are here, working every day to widen the doors that were once closed to us.”
Capping off, Cetinkaya urged Mayer to “reconsider your remarks, not because of politics, but because of principle.
“We must build on facts, and move forward with respect for those who are paving the way — not in spite of their identity, but with pride in it.”
Tim Mayer responds to Burcu Cetinkaya letter
Approached by PlanetF1.com for a response to Cetinakaya’s comments, the American offered a different perspective.
“It’s interesting that a letter that pretends it’s private and non-political is widely distributed to the media,” he said.
“Nevertheless, I celebrate the individual achievements of women in political appointments and honour their lived experiences.
“It is worth noting that the statutory initiative driving the inclusion of women in the World Councils was inherited from Jean Todt, and was not a Mohammed initiative. The work being done now stands on the shoulders of giants like Michelle Mouton, who worked tirelessly to establish the departments that now exist.
“But it is clear that when you really examine the current history of women in positions of power at the FIA, particularly the senior management roles that interact directly with the presidential team, my statement is well proven.”
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