Former F1 steward Tim Mayer announced back in July that he would stand against Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the FIA presidency. The American warned against the Emirati staying in power, and it would be bad for motorsport.
However, Mayer has decided to withdraw from the process due to a technicality. This will leave Ben Sulayem free to run unopposed in the election due to take place in December. But what is the reason that Mayer will not run for the presidency?
The technicality which left Tim Mayer out of the FIA presidency race
All candidates running for the FIA presidency must adhere to a regulation which states that they must submit the names of six prospective vice-presidents from each of the FIA’s global regions. The problem is that there is only one suitable approved candidate from South America, Fabiana Ecclestone. She has already declared her support for the current president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
This means Tim Mayer had to pull out of the election, as he had no representation from South America. At a press conference held in Austin before the United States GP, Mayer declared he won’t appear on the ballot paper. However, the American says his campaign for change will continue.
The 59-year-old said, “The election for the president of the FIA is over, but our campaign is not, and neither is our mission to protect the integrity and reputation of the FIA. There will be no election, there will be no debate between ideas, no comparison of vision, no examination of leadership.
🚨| BREAKING:
Tim Mayer WITHDRAWS from the FIA presidency election!
He announced his intention to run a few months ago but can’t officially do so as he lacks representation.#F1 #USGP https://t.co/kBKlo3HPtz
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 17, 2025
“There will only be one candidate – the incumbent – and that is not democracy. That is the illusion of democracy. Throughout our FIA Forward campaign, we’ve spoken of fairness, reform and integrity, of returning the FIA to its members.”
This means that other candidates, such as Laura Villars, will now also be unlikely to run for the presidency due to the rule. Mohammed Ben Suyalem will have no opposition to hold onto his position in Uzbekistan on December 12th. The former rally driver will complete a second four-year term, having taken over from Jean Todt in 2021.
Tim Mayer is critical of the FIA process
Mayer did claim that he and his team had submitted seven complaints to an ethics committee, according to The Race. However, he believes that nothing will be done about them.
He added, “We strongly believe a series of ethics violations have been committed in this election process, and we have now submitted numerous ethics complaints.
“Assuming the Ethics Committee finds validity to our complaints, who does this go to for action? The president of the FIA or the senate president – both conflicted parties. And the statutes don’t provide any other method or any appeal. Where is the accountability? This is how institutions fail, and this is power without breaks.”
A report from The Race states that fellow candidate Laura Villars has begun legal correspondence with the FIA. However, Mayer says that he doesn’t want to go down that route. Either way, it looks as if Ben Suyalem will run unopposed at the end of the year.
