The FIA is facing a threat of legal action after some of its members were barred from a World Motor Sport Council meeting for refusing to sign a new confidentiality agreement.
David Richards, the chairman of Motorsport UK, called the agreement a “gagging order” and was among those who refused to sign it. He issued a statement on behalf of the board saying: “we have informed the FIA that unless they address the issues we’ve raised, we will be engaging in further legal action.”The 72-year-old, who is also the chairman of Prodrive, pointed out he supported Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s candidacy in 2021, but stated the FIA president has failed to meet his promises. He raised concerns over the departures of several high-ranking members of FIA staff and changes to the governing body’s ethics committee.
Richards said the new confidentiality order “does not comply with the Statutes of the FIA and contradicts the promise of transparent governance we had voted for.” His request for it to be discussed by the WMSC was declined.
While urging the FIA to address his concerns, Richards also pointedly observed that this is “a year when the president will either be re-elected or a new one appointed.”
“It is more important than ever to remind the FIA of their responsibilities and continue to hold them to account on behalf of the sport and their members worldwide, and that’s what I intend to do,” Richards concluded.
David Richards’ statement on behalf of Motorsport UK
Dear Licence Holders, Clubs, Officials and Volunteers,
As your Chair, I’ve always believed, along with the Board and employees of Motorsport UK, that we are answerable to you in respect of all our actions. After all, our task is to serve the best interests of motorsport in this country and represent you, our members. In my role as a member of the World Motor Sport Council I’m also accountable to the full FIA membership worldwide and this letter has equal relevance to them.
For some time now I’ve had concerns about the erosion of accountability and good governance within the FIA. As you may have seen in the press, an issue has recently emerged that has compelled me to take a stand and needs an explanation.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
First of all, let me turn the clock back to a little over three years ago when we, alongside the Royal Automobile Club, supported Mohammed Ben Sulayem in his bid to become the next President of the FIA. Many of you were possibly surprised that we didn’t support the British candidate, Graham Stoker, but the Board met with both candidate teams and was convinced by the well thought out plans that Mohammed’s campaign team presented, which very much aligned with our own views of the way the FIA should transform itself.
The key messages in their presentation were:
• A hands-off President who would be non-executive and delegate the day-to-day running of the FIA to a professional executive team
• The appointment of an empowered and capable CEO to run the FIA to professional standards
• Full transparency of actions and the highest standards of sporting governanceI’m afraid that over the last three years there has been a distinct failure to meet these promises. In fact, the situation has progressively worsened with media reports confirming that numerous senior members of the FIA and volunteer officials have either been fired or have resigned under an opaque cloud. Furthermore, the scope of the Audit and Ethics Committees has been severely limited and now lacks autonomy from the authority of the President, while our UK representative, who challenged certain matters, was summarily removed along with the Chair of the Audit Committee. Various techniques have also been deployed with the effect of limiting the proper function of the World Motor Sport Council, primarily the use of e-voting which removes the opportunity for much needed discussion and debate on key subjects.
This has become increasingly worrying and the final straw for me, three weeks ago, was being asked to sign a new confidentiality agreement that I regarded as a ‘gagging order’. At the time of my appointment to the World Motor Sport Council in 2021 1 signed a confidentiality agreement and in fact was already bound by Article 4 of the FIA Code of Ethics. I remain committed to my confidentiality obligations under this existing agreement and Article 4, which remain in effect. However, the new confidentiality agreement went far further than this and, at a week’s notice, I was told that if I didn’t sign it, I would be barred from the next World Motor Sport Council meeting.
The key clauses I objected to were:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
• Everything was now considered confidential, without any qualification, preventing me from necessarily sharing what I considered to be relevant information
• The FIA, at its own discretion, could decide if anyone breached the terms of the new confidentiality agreement with no process or frame of reference
• There was an immediate fine of €50,000 for any breach and a threat of undisclosed damagesThe construction of this new confidentiality agreement does not comply with the Statutes of the FIA and contradicts the promise of transparent governance we had voted for. I therefore asked that we debate the matter at the World Motor Sport Council, which was just days away, rather than having it forced upon us as a condition of attendance.
My request, along with those of a few other Members who shared our views, was denied and we were barred from attending the meeting. This was in total breach of the FIA Statutes that require all elected members be given full access to meetings. I should point out that I kept the Board of Motorsport UK fully informed throughout to ensure that I had their complete support.
Our Motorsport UK lawyers, along with our French Legal Counsel, have challenged the FIA on their actions by setting out a clear set of questions that the FIA leadership needs to answer. It is very disappointing to report that we have still not received an answer to these or the fundamental question I raised: where in the FIA Statutes does it provide for an elected member to be barred from a meeting?
I remain open to signing an appropriately revised confidentiality agreement, if that’s thought necessary, but only when we’ve addressed the key question of what constitutes confidential information and, importantly, who decides on breaches and the implementation of penalties and under what procedure. I believe I have a fundamental duty to keep you, our members, fully informed and the way the proposed new confidentiality agreement is structured would prevent me from doing this.
I acknowledge that over the past three years the media does seem to have gained sensitive information from within the FIA, including matters that the President should reasonably have expected to be kept confidential. However, these were in respect of reports to both the Audit and Ethics Committees and notably not the World Motor Sport Council, where we rarely discuss matters that should not be openly shared with our own Members and Clubs as well as the broader FIA community. After all, that’s the very nature of transparent governance that we voted for. No-one, least of all myself, would dispute the fact that certain matters must be treated as confidential and sensitive for external release. However, we should not allow that basic truth to be misused in order to create a blanket gagging order on volunteer representatives on the various crucial Councils and Committees, this is not how a member-owned and driven organisation should behave.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
I should also make mention of Robert Reid, who was elected as the FIA Deputy President for Sport, and the promise that he would be empowered to work with the FIA Executive team to drive the sport forward. I think he has done an excellent job in this regard and made a positive impact worldwide. Increasingly, actions have been taken which have undermined the proper functioning of Robert’s elected role; this includes being denied access to materials, banned from meetings and even attending World Championship events. Again, this is not what we voted for.
So, what happens next?
Integrity is a core value of Motorsport UK and one that is central to who we are. Our Board and Executive Team will always operate in an open and transparent manner so that our members trust and respect our voice. We are fully aligned with Sport England and UK Sport’s Code for Governance which sets out gold-standard levels of transparency, accountability and integrity in sports governance. It’s therefore beholden on us to demand the same values of our governing body, the FIA. These actions by the FIA are in breach of their own Statutes. As a result, we have informed the FIA that unless they address the issues we’ve raised, we will be engaging in further legal action.
In a year when the President will either be re-elected or a new one appointed, it is more important than ever to remind the FIA of their responsibilities and continue to hold them to account on behalf of the sport and their members worldwide, and that’s what I intend to do.
Kind regards
David Richards, and the Board of Motorsport UK
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Formula 1
- The other obvious lesson from Norris’s Montreal blunder: Keep off the grass
- 2025 Canadian Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Why Verstappen’s claim Russell dropped too far behind the Safety Car was wrong
- Antonelli was counting down final laps in “very stressful” run to first podium
- Would the one-stop strategy Leclerc wanted have paid off? Canadian GP data
Coventry Climax
5th March 2025, 22:25
Good moment in time to buy popcorn shares.
SteveP
6th March 2025, 8:27
Or snack of choice; I always maintain a stock of assorted nuts, and a few cases of beer (assorted), plus comfy seating.
Any chance of live-streaming the antics, I wonder?
Live action on screen 1 with the points tally and penalties on screen 2
Kringle
5th March 2025, 23:44
David’s doing the right thing, the two page letter he’s put out to the MSUK members makes perfect sense and I’m glad that he won’t bend over to the gagging orders being imposed on them.
FlyingLap (@flyinglapp)
6th March 2025, 0:07
MBS (Master of BS ?) needs to be replaced by someone who actually cares about motor sport.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
6th March 2025, 6:40
yeah, and hopefully not someone who is tied to an investor like Toto Wolff either.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 0:12
Ahh, the strongly worded memo or letter. One of my favorite signs of impotent fury and always reminds of the Simpsons line (when Mr. Burns plans to block the sun) “I have here a polite but firm letter to Mr. Burns’ underlings, who, with some cajoling, will pass it along to him, or at least give him the gist of it.”
My new nickname for MBS is “Ben The Phantom Menace.” Guy single handedly causes more disputes and chaos than the rest of the grid combined.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
6th March 2025, 23:34
Legal threats, at least in the British system, are not signs of impotent fury. The real problem is it can take years for results to occur.
floodo1 (@floodo1)
6th March 2025, 0:51
Ben Sulayem is on borrowed time
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
6th March 2025, 4:04
He’s now a precarious worker!
Ronald (@mosquito)
6th March 2025, 9:37
Do you think? Given the structure of the FiA MBS will never be voted out if he does not want to leave. Every country has a vote, it is not very difficult as a FIA president to take some actions that smaller countries like the most and will make them vote for him.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 9:45
As long as all the FIA delegates in countries that don’t even have racing (MBS’ power base) stay on his side he’s likely to retain his power, unless someone else offers them a better bribe. There are around 60 countries in Asia and Africa with delegates (the vast majority w/little to no racing let alone a stake in F1).
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
6th March 2025, 23:35
@mosquito He will be voted out if he offends enough of his electorate. Given he apparently can’t even be sure of the backing of everyone who voted for him, it would be unreasonable to assume he still has enough backing to stay in – provided that either an alternative with better backing stands in the election, or Mohammed’s deputy is considered to be better at the job. (The former would result in getting outvoted, the latter in losing a vote of confidence).
El Pollo Loco
7th March 2025, 4:08
If the FIA’s constituents were only made up of delegates from influential Western sanctioning bodies you might be right, but how is he going to offend the better part of 100 delegates based in Africa, Asia and the ME? The vast majority of whom are delegates from ghost bodies who have no stake in F1 or racing writ large? It helps to remember MBS passed a rule that enables him to funnel money to these members. Do you think the delegates in Palestine, Burundi, Ivory Coast, etc. care about how Richards / Motorsport UK are treated let alone more than $?
Jere (@jerejj)
6th March 2025, 7:07
Fully understandable as MBS’ general approach has definitely been unnecessarily excessive.
S
6th March 2025, 8:04
Richards is obviously frustrated – however, taking this to the court of public opinion is unlikely to do his (or Motorsport UK’s) cause any favours.
In politics (which this is) – you keep your head down and play the game until you become the boss.
You don’t take on the boss; especially in this manner. Nobody wins in that kind of game.
We can probably expect Richards’ resignation or suddenly being ‘relieved from his duties’ in the next few months.
To be honest, I’d be surprised if he had that much support for this action from within his own organisation. It’s a risky game to play.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 9:47
FIA regulations bar him from ever becoming the boss (due to age). So, that’s not an option for Richards.
Bob
6th March 2025, 9:58
the FIA cant remove him from his Motorsport UK position, they can remove him from the FIA, but they will be breaching the statutes they claim to uphold and will be making his case stronger.
Motorsport UK members fully support Richards in his pursuit of the FIA, as is written in the article. As an elected memebr of the FIA richards can not be barred form the FIA, doing so breaches the statutes, if the FIA cant follow its own statutes, then it is not able to govern the world of motorsport and could be removed from being the governing body of motorsports.
Coventry Climax
6th March 2025, 10:49
Your last sentence sounds like wonderful music to my ears.
With one problem: What we’ll get back might well be even worse, given the amount of vultures gathered around it all.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 11:08
I wonder if that could solve the F1 name rights issue? That’s the real biggie.
S
6th March 2025, 13:31
In other news and press releases, FIA members fully support MBS as FIA president. But that’s not actually the case either, is it…
Motorsport UK is on the decline under its current leadership (though not necessarily because of that leadership) – this is not the sort of thing every member will support, especially under those circumstances. Tension between MSUK and the FIA creates its own pressure and concerns within.
That’s arguably the case now – however the FIA isn’t going anywhere.
If FIA members want change, they’ll vote for it. If they don’t, then MSUK will be considered the problem child.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
6th March 2025, 23:36
This is how Max Mosley got removed in 2009, except that time it was the team bosses of F1 who managed the feat.
MichaelN
6th March 2025, 8:50
It’s good that the members speak up about their concerns. This is after all their organisation. Is this the right way to go about it? Probably not, given the FIA has its own system by which the members can control the administration. It seems Richards realised that he stands quite alone, and sees this as the best way to grab some attention. Remains unclear what his goal is, though. It doesn’t seem like the best way to start his own presidential bid.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 9:56
Since the FIA is a bit like the UN but without the veto for the big countries (the ones we all think of when it comes to that are important to racing and account for 99% of its revenue) and a lot more little countries (MBS’ power base), going to the media is really the only option. He’s not going to go to Mauritania, the Ivory Coast, Burundi, Nepal, Palestine, Sri Lanka, etc. and build up a big coalition of voters. This is one of the problems about the FIA for F1. Its structure, members and practices grows and changes with little influence from F1 and they can’t change that nor break away.
anon
6th March 2025, 21:06
MichaelN, we’ve seen what happened to anybody who raises ethical concerns within the FIA about the conduct of Sulayem or the FIA, which is that they are either fired or stripped of authority.
We had Bertrand Badre and Tom Purves fired from the audit committee after they investigated allegations of financial irregularities in the expenses that Sulayem has been claiming, as well as potential conflicts of interest in funding proposals being put forward by Sulayem, and when Paolo Basarri reported his own concerns to the FIA’s ethics committee, Sulayem ordered him to be fired. As for Reid, as noted by Richards, Reid is technically still in place, but has been largely blocked from being able to serve in his role by Sulayem.
Furthermore, in this situation, the information that Richards has revealed about the terms of the NDA that Sulayem wanted him to sign raises questions about whether that NDA would be legal under UK legislation. Some of the terms that Richards has described and the way in which Sulayem has tried to impose the NDA both appear to potentially violate UK legislation – putting that on public record does mean the FIA may find itself in difficulty trying to explain to the UK government why it is trying to impose terms on NDAs that potentially violate UK law.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
6th March 2025, 23:40
MichaelN, slight problem: this is part of how “the FIA has its own system by which the members can control the administration”. The Statutes and compliance with those statutes are the backbone of the FIA’s system, so repeated failures to comply with it endanger a leader who encourages them. The difference is that Todt, Mosley and Balestre understood this and kept their breaches either non-existent or singular.
Carl Parker (@mysticarl)
6th March 2025, 12:23
As an MSUK member, I’m very happy with the stance MSUK are taking. MBS is taking an increasingly brazen line on doing as he sees fit rather than acting like the head of the FIA should, in my opinion. I hope he is not re-elected, there must be better candidates out there.
F180 (@f180)
6th March 2025, 22:46
MBS reminds me of Blatter. Bad actions disguised as good intentions . FIA is the new FIFA and Toto the new Infantino. All for the love of money.