FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem faces fresh questions about his leadership, after his deputy president for sport Robert Reid resigned on Thursday.
Reid, the 2001 world rally championship co-driver who stood alongside Ben Sulayem in their successful 2021 election campaign, said he took the decision because of what he says was a "fundamental breakdown in governance standards within motorsport’s global governing body”.
The shock development ahead of Ben Sulayem's first visit to an F1 race this year comes in the wake of Reid having grown increasingly frustrated about the way the FIA has been run under Ben Sulayem.
In a strongly worded-statement confirming that he had informed Ben Sulayem he was quitting his position, Reid said that his principles meant it was untenable for him to carry on.
“When I took on this role, it was to serve the FIA’s members; not to serve power,” he explained.
“Over time, I have witnessed a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold.
“Decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to represent.
“My resignation is not about personalities; it is about principles.
"Motorsport deserves leadership that is accountable, transparent, and member-driven. I can no longer, in good faith, remain part of a system that does not reflect those values.”
Despite feeling that he had made progress in his role at the FIA in helping strengthen governance and empower member clubs, Reid has grown uneasy about many aspects of how things were being run inside the governing body.
There have been concerns about the way certain rule changes were being pushed through the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council without the normal process of analysis and debate.
A move towards more virtual meetings, and more recently the increasing use of quick e-votes without debate, has led to a situation where some like Reid were left feeling there was no longer proper due diligence.
Unease about what was going on also escalated recently after some members of the WMSC, including Reid, were barred from a recent meeting because they had not signed a new non-disclosure agreement.
This matter prompted criticism from David Richards, the head of Motorsport UK, who has threatened legal action over what he considers to be a “gagging-order”.
But the final straw for Reid was the recent decision by Ben Sulayem to take control of promotion of the World Rallycross Championship – something that his statement says was “an action taken without Senate or World Council approval that could carry legal risk under European Union competition law".
Reid called this "the final breach of trust and due process”.
“This is not the end of my service to motorsport,” Reid added. “I will continue to advocate for reform, transparency, and governance that respects the FIA’s members and the integrity of our sport.”
— Robert Reid (@robertreidwrc) April 10, 2025
In response to Reid's resignation and his concerns about the decision to take World Rallycross promotion in-house, an FIA Spokesperson said: "The FIA is grateful for Robert Reid's contribution to the FIA, and to motorsport more widely.
"The FIA has exceptionally robust corporate governance policies which guide our operations and ensure our rules, practices and processes are adhered to.
"The FIA World Rallycross Championship is a hugely popular sport. In recent years, World and European Rallycross events have been watched by a growing audience of over 30 million viewers spanning over 100 countries.
"The FIA has directly invested into the championship for the benefit of fans, teams, and FIA member clubs. This investment is in line with the FIA's commitment to double participation in motorsport globally."
'Moral compass'
Reid’s resignation comes just a day after Richards (pictured above to the left of Reid) published an open letter doubling down on his belief that members being barred from WMSC for not signing the NDA was in breach of FIA statutes and French law.
Responding to a letter sent to him by Alberto Villareal, the General Manager of the FIA, playing down these concerns, Richards vowed to stand up for what he felt was right – and hoped to address his stance with Ben Sulayem in Bahrain this weekend.
Richards wrote: “What is disappointing in this letter from Alberto is the disregard for the very real concerns that have been expressed, not just by myself, but a growing number of people, that the governance and constitutional organisation of the FIA is becoming ever more opaque and concentrating power in the hands of the President alone.”
He added: “There are many things to be proud of that the FIA team in Geneva have achieved over the last three years.
“But we cannot allow a shift of the moral compass of our leadership to simply dismiss any request for transparency and open discourse.
“I am in the Middle East for the next week and hope that I may meet with the FIA President to express my views face to face and agree an acceptable outcome.”
