FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been warned that he risks “p****** people off” with his recent swearing and jewellery clampdowns, coupled with his spiky responses to drivers.
Before a flurry of firings at the governing body, Ben Sulayem ordered Formula One stars to cut out the X-rated language during press conferences. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have been handed punishments since, while their complaints over being treated have not been addressed.
“We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise,” the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) wrote to Ben Sulayem in a letter last month.
“Further, our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions by the media about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants.”
And David Coulthard, who spent 15 years racing in F1, believes that the FIA chief is alienating the faces of the sport by his attitude towards them.
“The FIA president had a letter sent by the drivers prior to Las Vegas asking for greater transparency, how the FIA spend the fines that are applied to the drivers. In many cases, the drivers do pay that directly,” Coulthard said on the Formula For Success podcast.
“And they also urged him to adopt a more respectful approach on matters such as swearing and wearing jewellery, and asked to be treated like adults.
“And apparently, in an interview in Autosport, he had said: ‘With all respect, I am a driver. I respect the drivers. Let them go and concentrate on what they do best, which is race’. Now, that is exactly the sort of condescending response that p***** people off nowadays.”
Ben Sulayem, who is up for re-election in 2025, previously competed in the World Rally Championship and Middle East Rally Championship before taking up administrative roles in motorsport.
And with the president’s response to a letter sent by the George Russell-led GPDA concerning Coulthard, he has warned Ben Sulayem that telling those on the grid that such issues are “none of their business” is the wrong approach.
“I wouldn’t claim to be a driver, I’m an ex-driver,” Coulthard continued. “And as far as I know, the president, is an ex-driver. So the best people to know what it is to be a driver, especially a Formula 1 driver, and this letter came from the Formula 1 drivers, is the Formula 1 drivers!
“That’s what worries me. To be dismissed in a way, like your opinion doesn’t matter. We revere these guys. We celebrate these guys. The Drivers’ Championship is what gets all of the publicity.
“And then, on the other hand, senior people want to go, ‘Yeah, look, just get on and drive the car!’ I never experienced with Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, or Mr. Mateschitz, and Christian [Horner] as the [Red Bull] team principal, I never once was ever treated like a child, even when I clearly had peed on the carpet in as much that I had taken four wheels off the race car.
“Not once did they ever go: ‘What were you thinking? What were you doing?’”