Ben Sulayem Removes Britain's Fia Senate Representative

Britain's typical connected nan FIA Senate has been removed by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Ben Cussons - vice-president of nan Royal Automobile Club - had been connected nan legislature for 3 and a half years aft supporting Ben Sulayem's candidature for president of motorsport's governing body.

He has been replaced by Azerbaijani Anar Alakbarov - known arsenic a protagonist and state of Ben Sulayem.

The legislature is nan FIA assemblage responsible for financial oversight and governance structure.

Cussons told BBC Sport: "I received correspondence from nan president saying he was appointing my successor. He gave nary logic why, and location was nary timeline arsenic to erstwhile this would happen."

He said his removal had taken him by surprise, pointing retired he and David Richards - nan caput of British motorsport's governing body, MotorsportUK - had been "staunch supporters of Mohammed successful his predetermination twelvemonth and his past manifesto".

"As acold arsenic I americium aware, I haven't fallen retired pinch him," he added.

"I person written to him for explanation and I haven't had a reply. I'm a awesome believer successful transparency and bully governance."

Cussons is successful conflict pinch Ben Sulayem complete his pushback connected a request to motion a stricter non-disclosure statement regarding FIA business. He says he is "awaiting a reply from nan FIA" having made his position clear.

His removal comes conscionable weeks aft a alteration to nan rules governing nan body's creation astatine nan FIA wide assembly.

They gave nan FIA president powerfulness to name aliases disregard nan required 4 "independent and qualified" members of nan senate.

Previously, nan president could only propose their assignment aliases removal, which required confirmation by nan remaining 12 members.

The logic fixed by nan FIA for nan alteration was to supply "more elasticity successful having nan expertise required for nan galore and varied topics [the senate] has to woody pinch and which whitethorn require an urgent decision".

Critics said nan imaginable request was already contained wrong different FIA rules, and that it was a transparent effort to consolidate powerfulness successful Ben Sulayem's hands.

The different 12 legislature members are 4 from nan statesmanlike team, including nan president, and 4 elected by each of nan world councils, for athletics and mobility.

The legislature is empowered to return decisions complete nan FIA's rules - including those governing Formula 1 - erstwhile world councils are incapable to meet.

Cussons' dismissal follows nan removal of a bid of elder figures, each apparently because they person disagreed aliases fought pinch Ben Sulayem.

These see erstwhile elder steward Tim Mayer, who past week announced he was running against Ben Sulayem successful December's statesmanlike election, main executive serviceman Natalie Robyn, FIA F1 title head Niels Wittich, compliance serviceman Paolo Basarri and nan caput of nan audit committee, Bertrand Badre.

Robert Reid resigned his position arsenic nan FIA vice-president for athletics successful March complete what he described arsenic a "standards breakdown" astatine nan FIA.

Richards has, successful caller months, been captious of changes made by Ben Sulayem to nan FIA's statutes, and has been banned from attending meetings of nan FIA World Council because he refused to motion a stricter non-disclosure statement imposed connected members.

The determination to enforce stricter NDAs connected world assembly members - which has besides been resisted by a number of different members - followed Richards' criticisms of changes made to nan statutes past December.

An FIA spokesperson said nan governing assemblage "thanked Mr Cussons for his work during his clip arsenic a personnel of nan FIA Senate".

The spokesperson did not respond to questions arsenic to why he had been removed, whether it had been planned earlier nan statute changes, and whether location were immoderate plans to region different members.

They besides did not respond to a mobility arsenic to whether it was correct to shape nan conclusion this was an illustration of nan benignant of conduct warned astir by opponents of nan 2 astir caller sets of statute changes, and grounds of what was described arsenic a "weakening of nan expertise of nan legislature to execute oversight functions, and particularly oversight of nan president himself".

The spokesperson alternatively explained nan domiciled of nan senate, saying it "plays a important domiciled successful nan governance of nan FIA, ensuring effective oversight of its financial and administrative affairs while guiding nan strategical implementation of its semipermanent imagination crossed athletics and mobility".

They added: "The past twelvemonth has marked a turning constituent successful nan federation's financial transformation, culminating pinch nan FIA posting a important operating profit for nan first clip since 2019.

"All projected amendments to nan FIA statutes were voted done by a ace mostly of FIA personnel clubs astatine nan FIA wide assemblies, successful statement pinch nan antiauthoritarian process which governs decision-making wrong nan federation.

"The amendments to nan FIA statutes further fortify processes astir governance and confidentiality."

Alakbarov has been president of nan Azerbaijan Automobile Federation since 2014 and is an adjunct to nan country's president, Ilham Aliyev.