Mohammed Ben Sulayem to step back from direct Formula 1 involvement

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected president of the FIA successful December 2021

Motorsport brag Mohammed Ben Sulayem says helium volition instrumentality a measurement backmost from nonstop engagement successful Formula 1.

Ben Sulayem wrote that it had been his "stated nonsubjective to beryllium a non-executive president via the recruitment of a squad of nonrecreational managers".

This step, the Emirati said, "has present mostly been completed".

• Pre-season investigating docket & 2023 car launches

Despite Ben Sulayem lasting for predetermination connected the pledge of being a non-executive president, helium has taken a direct, hands-on relation successful F1 for the past year.

That has led to a bid of controversies, including but not constricted to:

• his insistence that helium personally should o.k. changes to the cars to forestall aerodynamic "porpoising" past summer;
• his blocking for six months of an statement betwixt the teams and commercialized rights holder F1 to treble the fig of 'sprint' contention weekends for 2023
• Receiving a "cease-and-desist" missive from F1's lawyers pursuing his absorption connected societal media to a communicative claiming Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had tried to bargain the athletics for $20bn
• The emergence of a historical website that quoted him making misogynistic remarks.

Ben Sulayem's missive to teams said that from present connected helium would "focus connected strategical matters with my enactment team".

Their "day-to-day interaction for each matters connected F1" would beryllium the FIA manager of single-seater racing Nikolas Tombazis, helium said.

Tombazis, formerly the caput of the FIA's method department, was fixed his caller relation past period successful a restructure of the body's F1 departments.

This included the recruitment of Steve Nielsen from F1 to oversee contention control, with the purpose of improving its moving aft a bid of controversies successful caller years.

The FIA pointed to the employment of a caller main enforcement officer, the erstwhile automotive enforcement Natalie Rincon, arsenic cardinal to the restructure of its operations.

A spokesperson said: "The president's manifesto intelligibly acceptable retired this program earlier helium was elected - it pledged 'the assignment of an FIA CEO to supply an integrated and aligned operation,' arsenic good arsenic to 'introduce a revised governance framework' nether 'a enactment squad focused connected transparency, democracy, and growth.'

"These goals, arsenic good arsenic the announcement of the caller operation of the single-seater department, person been planned since the opening of this Presidency.

"The FIA president has a wide remit that covers the breadth of planetary centrifugal athletics and mobility, and present that the structural reorganisation successful Formula 1 is complete, this is simply a earthy adjacent step."

The spokesperson added that Rincon, an American, would oversee F1 arsenic portion of her role, and that she "participates successful [legislative body] the World Council and volition beryllium successful Bahrain [at the archetypal contention of the F1 play connected 3-5 March]".