The Formula 1 ambassador, Flavio Briatore, has publicly expressed his discomfort at what he considers an ineffective performance by the International Automobile Federation in its management of the premier category of motorsport.
From time to time, Formula 1 has begun to discreetly move away from the FIAsince he considers that he is not acting up to what such a prestigious and multimillion-dollar championship demands.
Months ago, we informed you of the discrepancies between the FIA and Formula 1 regarding the management of the championship of the federative body. And, since last weekend in Singapore, there have been several critical voices issued to the FIA from various members -official or not- of Formula 1.
“The FIA must be managed by professionals, this is essential”
Now one of its prominent members has made his discontent public, the ambassador of Formula 1 and personal friend of Stefano Domenicali (President of F1), Flavio Briatore. The former director of Benetton and Renault considers that there is a worrying lack of professionalism in the FIA.
“There are inadequate people in the FIA. In every race we have a problem, in Singapore the same. When a breach has occurred, why wait hours when you can decide in a minute with all the technical resources to call on?” the Italian has declared to the press.
slow and ineffective
The straw that broke the camel’s back for Briatore’s patience (or Liberty Media, holder of the commercial rights to Formula 1 and manager of the category) was the fact that the winner of the Singapore race, Sergio Pérez, was investigated by the sports stewards after it and not during the test.
This caused the final result to remain in doubt for hours, something that has become the usual norm in Formula 1 Grand Prix. “It’s not F1’s fault but the FIA’s, we have to change absolutely. You can ruin a race, the show and affect the world championship”, reiterates Flavio Briatore.
“The FIA is a company and, as such, to get ahead it needs to make use of the right and suitable people. It has about 200 employees and companies of this type must be led by capable managers, all sectors must have them”points out the Italian, who doubts the ability of the federation to meet the demands of Formula 1.
“That kind of quality doesn’t exist right now. The FIA must be managed by professionals, this is essential. The president has to decide. The important thing is that there is a federation that is equal to F1. Why didn’t this happen before? Because there were indeed professionals, simple, “concludes Briatore.
Following the 2021 scandal in Abu Dhabi, the new president of the FIA Mohammed ben Sulayem made changes to ensure effective refereeing of Formula 1 races. However, none of his measures have proven effective so far.