• Mohammed Ben Sulayem has announced that he will management of F1 to qualified managers.
• The FIA revealed reforms to its Formula One governance.
• Bahrain’s season begins on March 5.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, has informed Formula One team executives that he will step back from the day-to-day management of the sport and instead leave it in the hands of qualified managers.

The 61-year-old Emirati, who has held the post at the Paris-based governing body since the end of 2021, recently stirred up controversy, which led to the announcement on Wednesday.

Ben Sulayem was described by the international news channels as outlining the adjustments in a letter to the 10 teams to which they had access.

“My stated objective was to be a non-executive president via the recruitment of a team of professional managers, which has now been largely completed,” he said.

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“Therefore, going forward, your day-to-day contact for all matters on F1 will be with (head of single-seater racing) Nikolas (Tombazis) and his team, while I will focus on strategic matters with my leadership team.”

Last month, the FIA revealed reforms to its Formula One governance, including the appointment of Steve Nielsen as sporting director from the commercial rights holder. Nielsen has years of experience working with numerous teams.

Tombazis was replaced by Tim Goss, a former technical director for McLaren, who was promoted from the position of deputy technical director at the FIA.

Former sporting director Francois Sicard has taken on a new position as head of Formula One strategy and operations, where he is in charge of crucial trackside operations and logistics as well as long-term strategic planning.

Natalie Robyn, an American, has also been named CEO of the FIA.

During Ben Sulayem’s leadership, the FIA and Formula One’s relationship deteriorated over disagreements including sprint races, limitations on drivers’ ability to make “political” statements, and his support for an additional 11th team.

After Ben Sulayem questioned a valuation, Formula One’s senior attorney wrote an exceptional letter to the FIA accusing him of interfering with the commercial rights “in an unacceptable manner.”

Ben Sulayem’s alleged decades-old sexist remarks have also just come to light thanks to an archived personal website.

Bahrain’s season begins on March 5.

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