FIA Facing Major Legal Battle As 'Suspension' Order Requested By Driver
The FIA are set to face a potentially major legal battle as the 2025 F1 season draws to a close.
The sport's governing body has been embroiled in a series of controversies over recent years since Mohammed Ben Sulayem became president in December 2021.
Elections are held every four years, with Ben Sulayem due to stand for re-election on December 12 - five days after the 2025 season ends in Abu Dhabi.
The Emirati former rally driver, however, is guaranteed to serve another four-year term, as the FIA's election rules mean that no candidate can stand against him.
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Each candidate must organise a team of seven vice-presidents from each of the FIA's global regions.
But South America only has one eligible vice-president in Fabiana Ecclestone.
And Ecclestone, who is the wife of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is already on Ben Sulayem's list, meaning other presidential candidates cannot run.
In October, prospective candidate Tim Mayer pulled out of the race, stating that the election was 'not a democratic process' and accusing Ben Sulayem of 'exercising power without brakes'.
Now, Swiss racing driver Laura Villars, who became the first woman to announce her candidacy for the FIA presidency, has gone one step further by launching legal action against the FIA.
The 28-year-old, who was born in Switzerland, has sent a request to a Paris count via legal summons to 'order the suspension of the FIA presidential election ... until a ruling is made' over the existing rules.
She told BBC Sport that the summons is to ensure that the election 'complies with the organisation's own statutes and with fundamental democratic principles'.
"The legal action is grounded on Article 1.3 of the FIA statutes," she added. "Which commits the FIA to 'respect the highest standards of governance, transparency and democracy', and on the fact that the FIA is a French-law association headquartered in Paris, thus subject to French jurisdiction.
"This step is neither hostile nor political - it is a responsible and constructive initiative to safeguard transparency, ethics and pluralism within global motorsport governance.
"As I have stated publicly, 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."
The FIA declined to comment when approached by BBC Sport 'due to the nature of the process'.
According to PlanetF1, Mayer's team are said to be supporting Villars in her legal action.
Should an election take place as normal, Autosport report that any candidate hoping to defeat Ben Sulayem would have an uphill task.
The voting process sees all 149 FIA member countries given one vote each, with the outlet claiming that the 63-year-old has significant support in Asia, Africa and South America.
And a letter sent to Ben Sulayem by 36 Spanish-speaking FIA members in June praised him for 'providing strong leadership and improving the FIA's financial outlook following the COVID-19 pandemic'.
But the FIA president has faced criticism from drivers, while Motorsport UK threatened legal action against him earlier this year by claiming that he has imposed what amounts to a 'gagging order' on senior racing figures.
Several key FIA figures have also resigned from their roles since Ben Sulayem took over.
Robert Reid, the FIA's deputy president for sport, resigned from his role in April, describing a 'fundamental breakdown in governance standards' within the FIA and 'growing alarm over critical decisions being made without due process or proper consultation'.
The FIA brought in new statutes at their General Assembly in 2024 that opponents claimed would 'reduce accountability at the FIA'.
Natalie Robyn, who quit her role as FIA CEO in 2024, said Reid's resignation 'clearly indicates there are serious ongoing structural challenges'.
Ryan Smart