FIA boss faces pressure as drivers demand sweeping changes in official letter

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FIA boss faces pressure as drivers demand sweeping changes in official letter

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has received a rather shocking letter

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 18 March 2026 21:00

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reportedly been sent a formal letter from the entire grid calling for a major rethink of regulations, race control, and the consistency of stewarding decisions.

All 20 drivers competing in the Formula E championship came together to draft and sign the document, urging action to improve the sport after feeling their concerns have not been properly acknowledged within the paddock.

The letter, submitted on March 11 by drivers’ representatives Lucas di Grassi and reigning champion Oliver Rowland, highlighted a series of on-track incidents and raised concerns over what they see as a lack of understanding from officials when it comes to the unique demands of all-electric racing.

Motorsport publication The Race have revealed the contents of the letter and reported that Ben Sulayem is set to make a 'rare appearance' at the sixth round of the season 12 championship for a new race in Jarama this weekend following the bombshell correspondence.

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Several drivers who wished to remain anonymous also told the above publication they have 'little or no professional faith' in multiple senior officials within Formula E.

In a statement, an FIA spokesperson said the governing body are: "in regular correspondence with ABB FIA Formula E World Championship manufacturers, teams and drivers on a variety of topics.

Formula E grid demand independent review into stewarding consistency

All 20 drivers competing in this year's Formula E championship have signed the letter, including former F1 stars Nyck de Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi, Pascal Wehrlein and Lucas di Grassi, who earned the nickname 'Mr. Formula E' having competed in every championship of the electric series since its inception in 2014.

The letter targeted directly at Ben Sulayem sets out a worrying list of concerns felt among the drivers for some time, with a lack of confidence in the experience of some of the figures working in the sport as well as dissatisfaction over 'substandard stewarding'.

The letter addressed to the FIA president started off on a positive note, stating that the drivers: "see a lot of effort and improvement year over year with the local ASNs, marshalling, safety, track conditions, technical fairness and general protocols".

But the letter continued, saying that the drivers wanted to: "formally express our shared and growing concern regarding the current standard, consistency, and procedural coherence of stewarding and race direction within the championship".

Among the topics raised that the drivers wish to see improvements made in were inconsistency in decision-making and penalty application, a lack of continuity in stewarding panels, the assignment of driver advisors and championship-specific expertise, and improvements in race director logic, leadership, communication and transparency.

A specific enquiry was also raised concerning FIA Formula E race director, Marek Hanaczewski, who the drivers believe should face an "internal evaluation of (the) race director (sic) understanding and reasoning of the sporting rules", adding "without the capacity – and humility – to acknowledge and learn from mistakes, there is little evidence of continuous improvement".

Drivers 'risk losing pay' over demanding FIA letter

Whilst all 20 drivers on this year's Formula E grid have put their names to the bold letter, none of the 10 team principals have spoken out about the correspondence directly, with it being said that the majority of the Formula E bosses were completely unaware of the drivers' intention to send the demands to Ben Sulayem.

Though no Formula E team principal is yet to go on record, some have moved to distance themselves and their team's from the direct actions of their drivers.

Reports have also suggested that at least two teams are considering withholding this month's driver bonus payments, whilst others are believed to be taking a potential driver fine into consideration.

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