Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA not responsible for Russia GP cancellation

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has underlined that the FIA was not the body that scrapped the Russian Grand Prix in 2022.

In an interview with Sweden’s Expressen, the FIA president stressed that it was Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media’s FOM, which made the call at the start of the Ukraine conflict.

"To be clear, it was FOM that made that decision,” Ben Sulayem stated. “There was pressure on the FIA to flag and stop racing in Russia but I said I will not break the rules for anyone.”

Asked whether a future return is feasible, he replied: “There is a difference between the commercial part of Formula 1 and motorsport, and we have to follow the guidelines of the Olympic Committee, we respect them, but let’s hope.

“Do you think the war will last forever? I hope not. There are many lives at stake, from both sides. I hate war, it’s that simple.”

Currently facing an election battle for the FIA presidency, the Emirati warned that F1 risks losing its essence if it focuses too heavily on revenue. “No, it’s not just about sport, it’s also entertainment and a business, but it can’t continue if it’s just going to be a money machine. Then you lose the soul of the sport. That would be the beginning of the end,” he warned.

Ben Sulayem has had frequent disagreements with both the ten teams and F1’s commercial chief Stefano Domenicali. While Domenicali recently dismissed the idea of adding a 12th team, Ben Sulayem insists he is prepared to face resistance again after the Andretti-Cadillac episode.

“The FIA did it and I had to take all the beatings. Am I willing to take the beatings again? Yes, if it’s for the right reason,” he said.

“Do we need another team? No. We need the right team. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality, but it would make things very interesting.”

He also cautioned against letting politics dominate decisions on race venues. “If we think like this every time we have to choose a country, we won’t go there because of this or that, then maybe we should just come back here to Sweden, and we can have everything,”

Ben Sulayem joked. “We don’t mix religion and politics. For us, it’s about people and motorsport. But we would never take our people to places that are not safe.”

Finally, he accused the British media of driving “brutal” campaigns against him. “Sadly, it’s not always people hiding behind screens, sometimes it’s journalists who want to sell more newspapers,” he said. “I’ve never seen anyone more brutal than the British media.

"They’re so proud and say ‘ah, we’re so powerful that we managed to get our Prime Minister removed’. Is that really a success? A country without a Prime Minister for a long time is not good. It’s about the best interests of the people.”