“If someone wants me to win, they just have to say the wrong words to me: ‘You can’t do it.’ As soon as I hear that, I’ll do everything to win.”
These are the words of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in an interview with GP Racing magazine last year and they sum up his appetite for a fight. The declaration letter of support for his presidency signed by 36 automobile clubs, plus Fabiana Ecclestone as FIA vice president for Sport – South America, from across the world is nothing less than a pre-emptive strike against Carlos Sainz Sr, who recently announced he was considering a bid to challenge Ben Sulayem at the next election this December.
Making a run for the FIA presidency is a mathematical challenge as well as a political one. Each potential candidate must also draw up a so-called ‘list’ of confirmed supporters to run on their ticket.
