Mohammed Ben Sulayem has led the organisation since late 2021, when he took over from Jean Todt, who had completed the maximum three terms. Unless the situation changes, Ben Sulayem will run unopposed.

Earlier this year, several people expressed interest in challenging him. However, they all ran into the same problem: the FIA’s rules require every candidate to present a full “presidential list” made up of 10 other officials. This list must include the president of the senate, two deputy presidents, and seven vice-presidents for sport from different regions around the world. One of these vice-presidents must come from South America.

When the FIA published the list of people who were eligible to stand for the World Motor Sport Council, only one name appeared under South America: Fabiana Ecclestone. She is already part of Ben Sulayem’s team, which meant that no other candidate could complete their presidential list. Because of this, they were unable to stand in the election.

Tim Mayer, Laura Villars, and Virginie Philippot all tried to challenge Ben Sulayem but failed to gather the necessary support by the deadline. Villars has taken the matter further. She won the right to have her complaint heard in a Paris court and believes that the current rules, which leave Ben Sulayem unopposed, break the FIA’s own statutes. A judge will give a ruling on 3 December. The verdict could even delay the election, which is currently set for 12 December in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

For now, the FIA has confirmed that Mohammed Ben Sulayem is the only name on the ballot. His presidential list includes experienced figures from across the world. The list features Carmelo Sanz De Barros as president of the senate; Timothy Shearman as deputy president for automobile mobility and tourism; Malcolm Wilson as deputy president for sport; and seven vice-presidents for sport: Abdulla al-Khalifa for the Middle East and North Africa, Rodrigo Rocha for Africa, Daniel Coen for North America, Fabiana Ecclestone for South America, Lung-Nien Lee for Asia-Pacific, and both Manuel Aviñó and Anna Nordkvist for Europe.

This team satisfies all regional requirements, which is why Ben Sulayem has been confirmed as the only eligible candidate. The final decision on whether the election goes ahead as planned now rests with the Paris court.