FIA president slams the British media and claims they "convicted" him

F1 News

FIA president Ben Sulayem slams British F1 media
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  • Nicole Mulder

The FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has criticised the British media for how they have treated him during his tenure. The former rally driver believes he has been "convicted" and says the "nonsense" should be stopped. In doing so, he agrees with Max Verstappen and Adrian Newey, who also criticised how the British media acted.

Even before Formula 1 travelled to Singapore, Ben Sulayem spoke about how the British media portrayed him. After Newey said that Verstappen, especially in 2021, was demonised by Sky Sports, the British broadcaster, the FIA president was asked for his opinion on those statements.

FIA president: 'I have been convicted'

"I respect Max because I'm a driver. I was a champion and I respect winners and champions," the former rally driver said in a conversation with Autosport.com. "I see he had his share, but let's talk about me. If you look at the British media and what they did to me… For God's sake, they convicted me."

However, Ben Sulayem states that he does not care what is written about him because, according to him, the only goal is to 'sell more and get more attention'. "But they have no power over me and the FIA," he added.

The FIA president has asked the media to "stop this nonsense" and get back to business as usual. He argues that all the criticism has only made him stronger and wiser. He was also keen to highlight members of the FIA voted for him, rather than the media. "And if and when the members decide that it’s time to change me as president, it's their call," Ben Sulayem said.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton