At an F1 Commission meeting last month, Grand Prix Racing owners Liberty Media and all the teams reached an agreement to increase the number of sprint races from three to six in 2023.
However, the idea fell through after Ben Sulayem said he needed more time to consider the impact of upcoming sprint format events.
His stance, amid some voices that the FIA has been spending more than expected due to the latest changes, prompted many of the members who attended the meeting to suggest that the problem was simply one of “greed”.
This comes at a time when the new president is trying to balance absolutely all the structures of the FIA, with the aim of minimizing the huge losses of the governing body in recent times.
Despite this, Ben Sulayem has denied that this decision was made for economic reasons.
“I didn’t ask for more money, but if I had, it would have been to use it the right way – by investing in the right rules for the sport,” he told the Daily Mail .
“Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, so the FIA needs the resources to manage the technical and financial side of a billion-euro category in a way that respects that. We need the ability to observe those standards.”
“So when it comes to sprint races, I have to check if my team can handle the additional workload involved.”
“After Abu Dhabi (when Lewis Hamilton controversially lost the title to Max Verstappen), people asked for a lot of changes.
“So I don’t understand why we are suddenly asking the FIA to do more things. One moment there is an incident, such as a controversial safety car, and then what? We need to investigate all this and make a decision that is as sensible as possible.”
Ben Sulayem assured that he would be more than happy to give his approval to the expansion of the format to sprint, as long as the FIA concludes that the change has no negative effects.
“I’ll support them if it’s the right thing to do. I’m not saying it’s wrong either. I’m just saying there’s still time to make a decision. That will be for 2023, not this season.”
“We have what is called a democracy: Formula 1 has a vote, the teams have a vote, I have a vote, etc. If someone says we cannot abstain or take the time to study the proposals, then you are not giving us the freedom to democracy,” he concluded.
