Most human resources experts will tell you that an organization with high turnover likely needs to take a good look at its corporate culture.
With several high-profile departures since 2023, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) appears to need a review of its internal workings under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who assumed the role in late 2021.
Ben Sulayem’s tenure continues to be marked by a revolving door at the FIA headquarters, with one departing official quipping that the pool of qualified officials to work there will soon run dry.
When Robert Reid became the latest in a long string of departures last week, the now former FIA deputy president for sport’s parting words offered a glimpse into motorsport’s governing body.
“When I took on this role, it was to serve the FIA’s members, not to serve power,” he wrote in his resignation statement. “Over time, I have witnessed a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold. Decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to present. Motorsport deserves leadership that is accountable, transparent and member-driven. I can no longer, in good faith, remain part of a system that does not reflect those values.”
The last straw was dropped on Reid’s back when the FIA decided to take the promotion of the World Rallycross Championship in-house without the approval of the FIA senate or world council, he explained.
Reid’s words seem to mirror the findings of an MIT Sloan Management Review analysis of workplace reviews on the website Glassdoor. It used the reviews to identify the topics that employees identified as having the most negative impact on corporate culture. It found the “Toxic Five Culture Attributes” that most influenced negative ratings of corporate culture: disrespectful, non-inclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive.
“When employees join a company, they expect to find a culture that is inclusive, respectful, ethical, collaborative, and free from abuse by those in positions of power. Not only are these baseline elements of a healthy corporate culture, they are also what companies typically promise in their official core values,” the study found. “When corporate culture fails to deliver on these fundamental commitments, employees understandably react with something stronger than annoyance or disappointment.”
Another former FIA official, Natalie Robyn, who departed in May from the chief executive’s role, after just 18 months, seemed to echo the sentiments in MIT’s findings when asked about Reid’s resignation.
“During my tenure as CEO, I worked under challenging circumstances to strengthen the federation’s governance framework and upgrade its operational transparency,” she told the BBC. “When professional processes are not adhered to and stakeholders are excluded from decision-making, it undermines the foundation of a strong organization. I am saddened to see these developments, as they threaten both the credibility and the long-term effectiveness of an important institution.”
The departures of Robyn in May 2024 and Reid last week represent only two of several key officials walking out of the FIA’s door in the past two years.
The head of the FIA commission for women, Deborah Mayer, and the FIA sporting director, Steve Nielsen, left in late 2023, followed by single-seater technical chief Tim Goss, who departed for Red Bull Racing in January 2024. February 2024 saw the head of governance and regulation, Pierre Ketterer, and commercial legal affairs boss Edward Floydd leave.
Secretary general of mobility Jacob Bangsgaard and director of communications Luke Skipper departed in October 2024, before November saw race director Niels Wittich, veteran steward Tim Mayer, and chief compliance officer Paolo Basarri fired, while newly-appointed Formula Two race director Janette Tan left her post before ever setting foot in race control.
Mayer told the BBC that he learned of his dismissal in a text from the FIA president’s assistant and then added that “they (the FIA) are not doing themselves any favours. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs.”
Basarri’s exit came after he completed an investigation into whistle blower allegations that Ben Sulayem personally intervened in the operations of two races during the 2023 season, including overturning a penalty handed out by the stewards in Saudi Arabia. In addition, two members of the FIA ethics committee, Bertrand Badré and Tom Purves, got the boot after questioning Ben Sulayem’s use of a $1.5-million president’s fund.
Ben Sulayem then proposed changes to the organization’s structure that would see the ethics committee complete initial inquiries into ethics complaints but leave the decision to investigate in the hands of the FIA president and the FIA senate president. The changes also sought to limit the distribution of any ethics investigation report and to curtail the independence of the audit committee. The FIA members voted to approve the changes at its general assembly in December.
The controversies also didn’t stay within the FIA offices, with the president also clashing with four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who received a community service punishment after swearing during an FIA press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix.
That prompted the Grand Prix Drivers Association to issue a scathing statement that took aim at the sport’s leadership and its paternal attitude on swearing and other issues.
“There is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or driving situation,” the statement read. “We urge the FIA President to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise. Further, our members are adults, they do not need to be given instructions via the media about matters as trivial as wearing of jewellery and underpants.”
Nevertheless, the FIA later announced new penalties for swearing, including increased fines and possible race bans for repeat offenders that took effect in 2025.
Former F1 team boss and chairman of the UK’s national racing authority Motorsport UK, David Richards, went public with his disappointment in March in a sternly worded letter that expressed his concerns about the erosion of accountability and good governance within the FIA.
“The situation has progressively worsened with media reports confirming that numerous senior members of the FIA and volunteer officials have either been fired or have resigned under an opaque cloud,” wrote Richards, who one of the World Motor Sport Council members denied access to a February meeting after refusing to sign a new non-disclosure agreement that he called “a gagging order.”
“In a year when the president will either be re-elected or a new one appointed, it is more important than ever to remind the FIA of their responsibilities and continue to hold them to account on behalf of the sport and their members worldwide, and that’s what I intend to do.”
