The FIA is mired in escalating controversy as Motorsport UK chairman David Richards has unleashed a blistering open letter, threatening legal action against the organisation and its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Richards, a prominent Formula 1 figure, decried an "erosion of accountability and good governance" after he and FIA deputy president for motorsport Robert Reid were excluded from a recent World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) meeting for refusing a strict non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
"The final straw came when the president attempted to impose what amounted to a gagging order on WMSC members, backed up by threats of immediate 50,000 euro fines for any breach," he wrote in Motorsport UK's online magazine.
He accused Ben Sulayem of abandoning his 2021 campaign pledges. "Over the last three years, there has been a distinct failure to meet these promises, with the situation progressively worsening," Richards stated.
The FIA defended the NDA as "overwhelmingly supported" by others, per a spokesman, but Richards' legal threat questions the validity of the February meeting's outcomes, like the 2025 Monaco GP's two-stop rule.
With December's FIA presidential election looming, rumours swirl that F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff—backed by 1996 champion Damon Hill, who called her "perfect" for the role on Instagram—may challenge Ben Sulayem.
Their 2023 clash, when he probed her and husband Toto Wolff for conflicts of interest, fuels the speculation. "It was intimidatory and misogynistic," she said then, filing a criminal complaint in France.
Italy's Autosprint hints Ben Sulayem preempted her candidacy.
Richards, meanwhile, lamented an "exodus of senior members and volunteer officials" under Ben Sulayem, signaling wider dissent.
