FIA President Mohammed Ben-Sulayem is proposing a law to overturn a statute that his predecessor, Jean Todt, had set in place, and the backlash has already begun. 

Ben-Sulayem, who took over as the FIA President at the end of 2021, has plans of abolishing the tenure limit for the position he currently holds. Jean Todt had put the term limit in place after Max Mosley’s 16-year stint. 

Formula 1 and IndyCar broadcaster Will Buxton has now hit out at Ben-Sulayem’s move, and he didn’t hold back as he spoke to Kevin Harvick on their SPEED podcast. Buxton, who even did his university thesis on the politics of Formula 1, let out a disgruntled opinion. 

“Mohammed Ben-Sulayem, the president of the FIA, has this week said that he wants to remove the length of term that the president can sit for, thus further eroding any semblance of a concept of democratic values that ever existed in that institution, having already made himself Lord Commander of determining whatever he has sort of overstepped his own ethics.”

Ben-Sulayem won the elections unopposed last year, entering his second term of the stipulated three 4-year terms as FIA President. Another rule was that no President would be allowed to begin a new term beyond the age of 70. 

Buxton elaborated on why he feels so strongly against the move, saying that this whole act does not benefit the sport as a whole.

Ben Sulayem's period also saw the removal of Audit Committee members Bertrand Badré and Tom Purves after they had raised concerns over a proposed FIA fund. In April 2025, FIA Deputy President Robert Reid also resigned, citing a "fundamental breakdown in governance standards" within the organization.

It wasn’t just about wanting to get rid of the term length that Buxton had a problem with, but even the way the FIA has been functioning in general since Ben-Sulayem took over the presidential seat. 

FIA elections unfair and farcical, according to Buxton

An FIA spokesperson told the BBC that the move was being made in order to provide the structure of the organization with more stability. But Buxton doesn’t look at it that way. 

Buxton called the situation with the FIA presidential elections “undemocratic” because it is the FIA President who approves candidates to stand for election.

According to him, all candidacies were rejected on some unfulfilled criteria, leaving Ben-Sulayem to be voted into power. 

Buxton added, “The system of checks and balances that were put in place in order for the FIA to run itself effectively, he’s dismantled all of those. He’s managed to completely undo many of the systems and processes by which candidates who wanted to replace him or wanted to even stand against him, made it almost impossible for them to do so.”

Buxton also believes that this law shall pass unopposed because the people who will be voting on the matter all depend on Ben-Sulayem for their position at the FIA.

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason