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Oliver Schmerold stated that he has conveyed his concerns to the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem (AP)
The governing body of Formula 1, the FIA disclosed the set of regulations that will be enforced from 2026 and beyond. The changes are expected to be put to the vote at a meeting of the general assembly, which is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda. The proposed changes, however, have not gone down well with Oliver Schmerold, the chief executive officer of the OAMTC. Schmerold even stated that he has conveyed his concerns to the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Schmerold felt that the changes may restrict the autonomy of the FIA’s audit and ethics committees.
“The ethics and audit committees would lose that attractiveness so there would be maybe in future only individuals on those committees who are more or less in one way or another depending on the actual leadership,” said Oliver Schmerold, as per BBC. He went on to add, “Which individual who is behind good governance and who has shown he has a good professional track record would be ready to take on a position on a committee which is completely controlled by two individuals?”
This is the second time in six months that Oliver Schmerold voiced his concerns about the planned changes. At the last general assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in June, he had talked about a statute that has been known as the “urgency” rule.
This, reportedly, allows the FIA president the power to enact changes through a group, which is made up of the president of the FIA senate and one member of his selection from each of the two world councils.
Oliver Schmerold is the second high-profile figure from an FIA member club to share worry about the proposed changes. David Richards, the chairman of MotorsportUK, had earlier expressed his concerns about the new rule. As per BBC, he had said on Saturday that the changes “did not reflect the highest standards of corporate governance”.
The FIA is yet to make any comment on the reasons behind bringing up the new statutes. A vote will be held on December 13, following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to put forward the changes to the FIA statutes.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem had taken over Jean Todt as the president of FIA at the end of 2021. He took charges on a four-year term. Ben Sulayem, who is now getting ready for a second term, is officially unopposed ahead of the election at the end of next year.