FIA could have its own reality show amid recent drama

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that the FIA could have its own reality show based on recent events at the governing body.

Amid a number of staff changes over recent weeks, which included the dismissal of Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the FIA has been the subject of much intrigue.

There has also been a push from F1 drivers requesting they are treated more like adults, with some greater clarity asked from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over where fine money is spent, as they issued an open letter on behalf of the GPDA.

Watch: Verstappen Brilliant As The FIA Baffles In Qatar – How The Race Unfolded At Lusail

But Ben Sulayem is unmoved by what those outside the governing body think, as he made it clear at the Qatar Grand Prix in reference to the drivers’ request that it is “none of their business.”

Just hours later, the FIA’s handling of the Qatar Grand Prix became a major talking point, amid debate over the way race control handled a stranded mirror in the middle of the track before it was hit by a car, and then the severity of a number of penalties handed out.

Wolff, who saw both his drivers given sanctions for separate offences in the race, says that the situation surrounding the FIA is far from ideal.

“Generally, if you look at it in a positive way, it could have its own reality show with what’s happening at the moment,” he said. “I think all of our stakeholders need to bear in mind that we need to protect this holy grail of a sport, that it is, and do it with responsibility and accountability and transparency. And it doesn’t come across like that.

The Mercedes AMG Safety Car Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 out of the pit lane

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

“So I can’t look into the organisation. I understand what we [the teams] are doing in trying to keep that together. But it’s good that the drivers are united in this bigger picture, like they’ve shown.

“Teams very much have an understanding of what we believe is right or wrong. And so everybody just needs to look in the mirror and say: ‘am I contributing the best to this sport, or not?'”

In the wake of Ben Sulayem’s ‘none of their business’ remarks, Wolff concurred that indeed how the FIA president handled matters within his organisation was up to him.

However, he felt that there was a duty of the regulator to ensure it acted in the best interests of motorsport in general.

“I think he [Ben Sulayem] can fire as many people as he wants; as [it’s] his organisation, he’s the president,” added Wolff. “That’s not something that anybody [else] has an involvement.

“Where it becomes important for the drivers and for all of us is: ‘does it make the decision-making process better? Does it make the regs better? Is the sport improving because of these changes in the organisation, in personnel?’

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“If the answer to all of this is yes, it’s doing that, then this is an internal matter that he has to handle.

“But obviously, what’s in the news and the potential spillover in terms of negativity and reputation, that is something that is bad for all of us.

“This is also what I meant; all of us are in this sport and all of the stakeholders; the media, the FIA, the drivers, the teams, Liberty, Stefano [Domenicali] running it, I think we, in times when there is so much polarisation, so much conflict, the rationality needs to win. For me, it doesn’t look that way at the moment.”