Mohammed Ahmad Sultan Ben Sulayem (born 12 November 1961) is an Emirati former rally driver and current president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of many auto racing events including Formula One. He is a former rally driver, and one of the most successful Middle East Rally Championship drivers, winning 14 titles. In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the United Arab Emirates in the FIA. In 2008, he was elected as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. He was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009. In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs. In December 2021, he was appointed as FIA President, succeeding Jean Todt. In September 2024 he was appointed as UN Tourism's Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism in the Sport category in recognition of his efforts in integrating sustainability initiatives into global motorsport.

Early life and education

Sulayem was born on 12 November 1961 in Dubai, Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates). He studied business at the American University in Washington, D.C. where he graduated with a bachelor's degree.

Personal life

Sulayem is a prominent car collector and owns multiple supercars including Koenigsegg Agera RS, Koenigsegg Regera, Koenigsegg Chimera, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar, Lexus, Ford GT, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce. In July 2012, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to sport, civic leadership and charity. On 7 March 2023, one of Ben Sulayem's sons, Saif Ben Sulayem, died in a road accident in Dubai.

Racing career

Ben Sulayem competed in the Middle East Rally Championship driving for Toyota and Ford. He won his first title in 1986 with a Toyota Celica and went on to win six consecutive titles till 1991. In 1994, He won his seventh title with a Ford Escort RS Cosworth. From 1996 to 2002, Ben Sulayem won a further seven titles with Ford, making the most successful driver in the championship with over 60 wins and 14 titles (both the records have since been broken by Nasser Al-Attiyah).

Administrative career

In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the UAE in FIA. In 2008, he was elected as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, and he was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009. In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs. In June 2013, he was appointed as the chairman of the new Motor Sport Development Task Force set up by the FIA to build a ten-year plan for the sport's global development. In December 2021, he was appointed as the FIA President succeeding Jean Todt.

Honors

Individual

Individual honors won include:

Controversies

In 2009, during a promotional event for Renault F1 team in Dubai, Ben Sulayem crashed a Renault R28 Formula One car in a race against a Ford GT. In 2022, Ben Sulayem, as FIA President, oversaw the investigation into the controversial ending of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race ended with a last lap shootout when the Race Director (Michael Masi) brought in the safety car on the same lap as allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves. This breaches F1 regulations, which require the safety car to stay out for an additional lap after unlapping lapped cars. Had the regulations been applied correctly, the race would have ended under safety car conditions with no overtaking allowed on the final lap. The investigation concluded that while the safety car did not stay out for the additional lap, "as required by article 48.12", the result was legitimised because, as Mercedes AMG did not appeal, there was "no available mechanism to change the classification". The investigation failed to report that the FIA President has the power under Judicial & Disciplinary article 9.1.1.d to refer the controversial ending to the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) for them to decide whether the result was legitimate. The ICA have the power to change race classifications should they deem that regulations were infringed. This option is available until March 2027, 5 years after the report was published, in accordance with the statute of limitation defined in the F1 Sporting Regulations. Ben Sulayem allegedly told FIA officials to declare the Las Vegas circuit unsafe for racing and not certify the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit for its 2023 race. Ben Sulayem is also under investigation for allegedly attempting to intervene in the results of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. On 5 March 2024 the FIA confirmed its compliance officer has received two whistleblower complaints. In January 2023, The Times newspaper resurfaced comments Ben Sulayem made on his now archived website in 2001. The newspaper quoted Sulayem as saying he did not like "women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth". The veracity of the quotes was not refuted by Sulayem, but the FIA defended him saying "the remarks in this archived website from 2001 do not reflect the president's beliefs". In November 2024, Ben Sulayem faced criticism by the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) after both Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc received punishment for swearing in FIA press conferences. Verstappen received a FIA community service order ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, whilst Leclerc received a fine. The GPDA responded with an open letter.

Racing record

Complete WRC results

Trivia

Sulayem's name appears as NPC competitors name in several computer games regarding car racing such as Colin McRae: Dirt 2 and Dirt 3.