FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has withdrawn himself from hands-on control of F1. In a dramatic turn of events, Sulayem confirmed this news to all the team bosses in the F1 via a letter addressed to the heads and Team Principals. With the new season less than a month away from commencement, this news took F1 fans aback. Know more about F1 in Nextbet.

Sulayem confirmed that he would only concentrate only “strategic matters” going forward.  Nikolas Tombazis, who is the director of single-seater racing, will be taking over the duties of the “day-to-day” running. As per the British media house Daily Mail, Sulayem confirmed the news that his objective was to be a non-executive president.

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

While Sulayem sent shock waves across the racing world with this news, reports also suggest that he is not taking a backseat entirely. He is expected to remain in control of his role as FIA President despite some openly expressed desire in the business for him to resign from this duty soon. The 61-year-old Emirati took a center-stage approach throughout the 2022 season and regularly made podium appearances and engaged with drivers on the grid.

It has not been an easy start to the year for Ben Sulayem, who has found himself entangled in separate controversies. The 61-year-old received an explosive letter from F1 chiefs in response to comments he made about the value of the world championship last month.

This was a few days before he caused a sexism storm after misogynistic remarks he made about women in the past. It was originally published 20 years ago on a now-archived version of his website and was accessed by the media. Multiple figures from the FIA’s world motorsport council have raised concerns with Ben Sulayem and offered advice after recent controversies, according to Sky Sports.