French court denies efforts to delay FIA Presidential election
Court action surrounding the FIA Presidential election has been delayed until 2026.
A judge in France has dismissed an attempt to delay December’s FIA Presidential election after Laura Villars took the matter to court.
Villars, an FIA Presidential candidate, took the FIA Presidential election process to the French courts amid concerns surrounding the process that will see Mohammed Ben Sulayem run unopposed in December’s election.
French court hears concerns surrounding FIA Presidential elections
Villars was one of three challengers to publicly announce their candidacy in the election race, alongside Tim Mayer and Virginie Philippot, standing against current President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
However, the FIA statutes are such that nominations from the trio of challengers could not be accepted as they did not satisfy the criteria. Specifically, they did not have a vice-president in each of the governing body’s global regions.
Presidential candidates must submit a List, effectively a cabinet of staff, as part of their nomination, which includes vice presidents from each FIA region. Those individuals must be selected from the pool of nominations for the World Motor Sport Council.
This year, only Fabiana Ecclestone was nominated from South America. With her support pledged to Mohammed Ben Sulayem, it meant there were no other WMSC candidates from the region available, precluding Villars, Mayer, and Philippot from submitting a completed List.
Given the lack of WMSC nominees from the region meant there could be only one viable candidate, Villars took the matter to court in France, where an urgent application of the Paris Judicial Court heard the dispute on Wednesday.
The outcome was, essentially, a ruling that the matter did not warrant urgent attention and should be referred to other judges for a ruling.
“The urgent applications judge held that this dispute must be heard on the merits, and we will therefore continue this litigation against the FIA before the judges sitting on the merits,” Villars’ lawyer, Me Robin Binsard, said in a statement issued to PlanetF1.com.
“A first hearing is scheduled for 16 February 2026.”
Villars’ statement went on to claim the Presidential election “may be reviewed, challenged, or annulled by the court,” though that point has been disputed by PlanetF1.com sources.
A statement issued to this publication by the FIA stated: “The French Court has issued its decision on 3rd December, confirming that the election for the President of the FIA will proceed on 12th December at the FIA General Assemblies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“The FIA remains focused on the forthcoming General Assemblies and discussing with its member clubs globally important issues for both motorsport and automotive mobility.”
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The crux of the issue centres on the requirement for vice-president representation from each region.
Those individuals are nominated for the World Motor Sport Council by their local governing body, or ASN to use the FIA’s own language.
In this instance, only the Brazilian Federation put forward a candidate, Fabiana Ecclestone.
However, there was no barrier inhibited another South American ASN from submitting a candidate on their behalf with the likes of Chile, Peru, and Argentina all entitled to have made such a nomination had they chosen to. Indeed, part of the campaigning process is to secure such backing that a WMSC nominee from the region is available for the candidate.
For the moment, the matter remains as is; Mohammed Ben Sulayem will be elected unopposed in December at the FIA General Assembly in Uzbekistan to secure a second term as FIA President.
Beyond that, on February 16, a French court is expected to hear Villars’ concerns.
The most likely expected outcome is a recommendation to review the FIA statutes and the FIA Presidential election process, with no interference in, or change to, the outcome of December’s election.
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