The FIA is being forced to answer a second legal case ahead of December’s presidential elections after candidate Laura Villars was granted permission by a Paris court to summon motorsport’s world governing body before an emergency judge.
Villars, a 28-year-old Swiss-French racing driver and entrepreneur, had requested an “emergency summons” because of “serious democratic failings within the FIA, as well as several violations of its Statutes and Regulations.”
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A first hearing has been set for November 10.
The FIA is also facing a criminal complaint in the French courts from Susie Wolff, the head of the all-female F1 Academy series and wife of Mercedes F1 co-owner Toto Wolff.
Villars, who announced her intention to run for the presidency of the FIA in September, says her legal action follows several months of unsuccessful exchanges between herself and FIA officials regarding “principles of governance and representativeness”.
“I have twice tried to open a constructive dialogue with the FIA on essential matters such as internal democracy and the transparency of electoral rules,” she said in a statement. “The responses received were not up to the challenge. I am not acting against the FIA. I am acting to protect it. Democracy is not a threat to the FIA; it is its strength.”
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Villars will not ultimately stand for election in December. Like Tim Mayer, the 59-year-old former FIA steward and son of McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer, she has been forced to pull out of the race.
The FIA’s electoral rules require prospective candidates to submit a “presidential list” – essentially their leadership team should they be elected – with one vice-president from every global region. But there was only one representative from South America on the FIA’s approved shortlist – Bernie Ecclestone’s Brazilian wife Fabiana – and she has already declared her support for Ben Sulayem. It means that no one can challenge Ben Sulayem this year.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem is set to run unopposed in the December election – AP/Luca Bruno
Mayer, who withdrew from the race earlier this month, said at the time: “That’s not democracy – that’s the illusion of democracy.” In a statement on Wednesday, Mayer said he “applauded the action taken by Laura as an important step to implement the necessary reforms for democracy and transparency.”
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Villars made her racing debut in 2023 in Formula 3-level championship ‘Ultimate Cup Series’ and also raced that year in UAE Formula 4 before a move to Saudi Arabia Formula 4 in 2024.
She said she would attend the hearing next month “with the same attitude I have maintained from the beginning — calm, openness, and determination.” She added: “I hope it will finally lead to a sincere dialogue in the service of a FIA that is more modern, fair, and connected to its members.”
Susie Wolff’s legal action follows the FIA’s short-lived ‘conflict of interest’ probe into the Wolffs’ relationship in December 2023 following media reports that some teams had raised concerns.
That probe was dropped within 48 hours after nine of the 10 teams issued identical statements declaring their opposition to the investigation and denying that they had raised complaints.
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Wolff revealed three months later that she had “personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on March 4 [2024] in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA.”
The Scot said earlier this month that the case remained “ongoing”.
Meanwhile, it has been announced that John Malone will step down as chair of Formula One owner Liberty Media and Liberty Global.
The 84-year-old billionaire, who built the Liberty Media empire, briefly took over as interim chief executive after fellow American Greg Maffei stepped down at the end of last year.
Liberty Media vice chairman Robert Bennett will become chairman of the board.
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Formula One sources insist it will not change anything in terms of the running of the sport, with Bennett, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, Chase Carey, executive chairman of the Formula One Group, and Derek Chang, president and CEO of Liberty Media, all part of an executive committee which has overseen F1 since the start of the year.
In a statement FIA told Telegraph Sport: “Due to the nature of the process, the FIA is unable to comment on this legal action and will not be able to provide further comment on this matter.”
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