15/10/2023
NEWS STORY
FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem is confident that if rejected by F1, Andretti will not resort to legal action.
In recent weeks Ben Sulayem has been vocal on a number of issues, after the months of comparative silence that followed the legal threat from FOM's lawyers when he disputed the financial value of the sport.
Over the Qatar weekend, in stark contrast to the desires of the sport's owners, Ben Sulayem expressed a desire for fewer races and more teams, having, just days earlier, rubber-stamped Andretti's potential entry.
The move appears to put the FIA and F1 on a collision course, as neither the sport's owners, or the majority of the existing teams, want the newcomer, though they would be happy to accept engine partner General Motors.
It has been claimed that if its way is blocked, Andretti could resort to legal action, especially in terms of the European Union where such a move could be considered to be in violation of the anti-competition laws, but the FIA president doesn't believe this to be likely.
"No we won't have to go to court," he said. "I don't think any of us want to go to court.
"Maybe it sounds very exciting and threatening to the media," he added, "it's like, it's very, very nice to them. But it will not go to court, I am sure of that. Why should we go to court?"
Asked the reason for his confidence, he said: "There are many aspects to this. First of all, you look at, it is an American, Liberty is an American company. I read that Liberty were approving and they were saying we would like to have an 11th team. And then looking at the share price, that it went up instead of down when we declared it, that's good for them. And thirdly, to say no to an American OEM, it's very hard. In the country, it's good for business."
The FIA president also hinted that if rejected, Andretti could proceed without signing up to the same commercial agreement that ties the existing ten teams to the sport.
"If FOM refuses to have the funds, still the team can enter by the way, you know that," he said. "But, do you really think it will go that far?
"One thing I would say, I hope and I trust Stefano. Stefano doesn't come from only commercial, Stefano comes from the automotive industry and the sport also."
Ben Sulayem was also keen to play down the suggestion that his stance on the issue is merely to further antagonise the sport's owners, with whom he has not enjoyed the most easy relationship since being elected in 2021.
"It won't break it between us," he said. "We did not put FOM in a strange position. There was no, none of my people, either me or the FIA, had this intention at all. That's very clear. Our intention is to add value to the sport and to make an OEM."