FIA controversies and its tensions with Formula 1 will take a back seat when the racing action begins in March, believes Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur.
During the off-season, particularly in the last month or so, the sport's governing body has been making headlines for the wrong reasons. It began last last year, when it was revealed that the rules would be changed to ban drivers from protesting or making political points without receiving prior permission.
Critics have slammed that move, claiming it is an attempt to silence drivers. House of Lords peer Lord Scriven and human rights group the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy both accused the FIA of "targeting" Lewis Hamilton – one of the drivers who has most regularly used his platform to highlight social injustice.
It remains to be seen how the policy will be policed, but it was far from the only scandal involving the FIA this winter. Its president Mohammed ben Sulayem – already unpopular with many senior F1 figures – caused a stir when he publicly commented on a report claiming the sport had been subject to a £16bn approach from the Saudi PIF.
His suggestion on social media that the figure was "inflated" incurred the wrath of F1 chiefs who felt he had stuck his nose where it didn't belong. The sport's lawyers sent a strongly-worded letter to Ben Sulayem admonishing him for his public comments.
"The FIA has given unequivocal undertakings that it will not do anything to prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of [commercial] rights," the letter read. "We consider that those comments, made from the FIA president's official social media account, interfere with those rights in an unacceptable manner."
And, last week, it came to light that a sexist comment appeared on an archived version of Ben Sulayem's website, in which he appeared to claim women are not as intelligent as men. The FIA leapt to his defence, asserting that remark does not represent the president's views.
Such turmoil in the build-up to a new season has led to suggestions of unrest behind the scenes at the FIA, as well as the potential for civil war between the governing body and F1 leaders. But Vasseur appeared to downplay those suggestions as he voiced his belief that stories pertaining to the FIA will soon take a back seat.
"I'm really convinced that as soon as we will put the cars on track, this will disappear a little bit off the screen," said the new Ferrari chief. "For sure we'll have discussions but, as always, I hope that we'll be able to stay focused on the sporting side."
