Ben Sulayem, FIA, social — Photo: © IMAGO

Legal action threatens to overturn FIA presidential election result

Laura Villars was going for the leadership

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 4 December 2025 17:04

An official FIA statement has confirmed that the FIA election will take place on December 12 as planned, but a lawsuit could overturn the result of said election as early as in February 2026.

Laura Villars' legal action against F1's governing body surrounds the electoral process, but a French Court has determined that the election will not be delayed, and will go ahead as planned.

However, the lawsuit - and a court case pencilled in for mid-February - could see the result to re-elect Mohammed Ben Sulayem given he is the only candidate in the running, overturned.

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While the court initially ruled against Villars in the decision to go ahead with the election as planned, a press release from Villars said that the judge in the French Court "held that the irregularities raised regarding the presidential election must be examined."

Robin Binsard, Villars' lawyer, said: "We will therefore continue this litigation against the FIA before the judges sitting on the merits. A first hearing is scheduled for February 16 2026."

A spokesperson for the FIA confirmed to GPFans: "The French Court has issued its decision on 3rd December, confirming that the election for the President of the FIA will proceed on 12th December at the FIA General Assemblies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

"The FIA remains focused on the forthcoming General Assemblies and discussing with its member clubs globally important issues for both motorsport and automotive mobility."

Why is Villars taking legal action?

Villars' court date will focus on her challenge of the FIA electoral process, which has essentially led to just one candidate - Ben Sulayem - being up for election.

Villars, Tim Mayer and Virginie Philippot had all intended to stand again Ben Sulayem, but a quirk in the rules has basically left just Ben Sulayem in the running.

The candidates were unable to put together the required slate of potential vice-presidents from an official list of 29 by an October deadline.

The reason being for this was that every candidate had to name one person from all the FIA global regions, but there was only one South American on the official list, who was already on Ben Sulayem's side.

Villars is alleging that this process is unfair, and the Swiss racing driver is attempting to go about changing it, questioning "the compliance of the electoral procedures with the FIA's stated principles of governance, democracy, and integrity."

FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem