Mohammed ben Sulayem's announcement that he will be stepping back from day-to-day matters in Formula 1 will have been gratefully received by most within the sport.
For the past few weeks, the relationship between F1 bosses and the FIA has been deteriorating. Conflict between the two pillars of leadership has been brewing behind the scenes for longer, and has been a factor for much of Ben Sulayem's presidency to date.
Naturally, the FIA claims this was always the plan. But they would do well to truly convince anyone that the timing of the move had nothing to do with the recent wave of bad press which has left the president fretting over his re-election chances.
