The 61-year-old and the FIA have had it a little easier at the end of the 2022 season, but he has now disclosed that one of his first tasks was to close a $20 million gap and resolve an ongoing legal matter.
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When Mohammed Ben Sulayem became the FIA president, the organization’s $20 million deficit needed to be closed. In December 2021, Ben Sulayem was elected president of the FIA, taking office at a contentious time when the organisation was facing criticism in the wake of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 61-year-old and the FIA have had it a little easier at the end of the 2022 season, but he has now disclosed that one of his first tasks was to close a $20 million gap and resolve an ongoing legal matter.
The halo, which was added to all F1 cars starting with the 2018 season, was the subject of the court case, but its inventor Jens H. S. Nygaard filed a lawsuit in the US alleging that the FIA may have violated his patent. Ben Sulayem stated that there was a $20 million hole that needed to be filled due to the costs used to cover that as well as the need to recover from the COVID pandemic and explained that is why the FIA hired its first CEO.
“There was a financial issue that we didn’t know about,” he said, as reported by Motorsport.com. “We had a deficit, even before the pandemic, but I’m pleased to have cleared that. We never had a CEO for 118 years and if we want to deal with the challenges that’s going on, I cannot go and micromanage. When you go to the CEO, you’re talking about policies, you’re talking about managing the structure, you’re talking about day-to-day running of the FIA, and you’re talking about the finance.”
“We all know and I’ll be very honest with you, we had an issue with the finance. We had a deficit this year, which was over $20 million. I’m very happy to know that even with it, we never stopped any of the support of the grants or the efficiency of the FIA towards any ASN (Autorite Sportive Nationale/National Sporting Authority) or any club. And we’re still saving,” he added.
The FIA was managing the deficit while F1 was experiencing one of its most prosperous stretches ever. Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, stated in June that the sport’s finances had “never been healthier.”
