FIA sued by presidential candidate over voting rules
Oct.30 (GMM) The FIA has been hit by a major legal challenge ahead of December’s presidential election, with Swiss-French driver and entrepreneur Laura Villars filing a lawsuit in France claiming the organisation’s new voting system unfairly blocks challengers to incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Villars, 28, has asked the Paris High Court to suspend the election scheduled for December 12 in Uzbekistan, arguing that recently amended regulations make it impossible for any opposing candidate to stand.
A preliminary hearing is set for November 10.
The rules, changed in June, require each candidate to present a list of seven vice-presidents representing all global FIA regions. However, there is only one eligible South American representative – Fabiana Ecclestone, wife of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone – who has already declared her support for Ben Sulayem’s re-election bid.
“Under these conditions, no competing list could include a South American vice-president,” Villars said in her court filing, calling the process a “violation of the FIA’s principles of democracy and pluralism.”
“I am not acting against the FIA – I am acting to protect it,” Villars told AFP. “Democracy is not a threat to the FIA – it is its strength.”
Her lawyer, Robin Binsard, confirmed the emergency proceedings had been approved, saying the case highlights “serious democratic shortcomings within the FIA.”
Villars’ lawsuit follows similar concerns raised by Tim Mayer, a former FIA steward and son of McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer, who withdrew from the race earlier this month. “The FIA’s process greatly favours the incumbent team,” he said.
“It’s a one-horse race – an illusion of democracy.”
According to RMC and AFP, the FIA has declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal process.
The governing body, which oversees Formula 1, is also facing a separate criminal complaint from Susie Wolff, head of the F1 Academy, over its handling of last year’s conflict-of-interest probe.
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