FIA: Changes voted through by Formula 1’s governing body are criticised
Controversial changes to the charter of Formula 1’s governing body approved on Friday constitute a “worrying concentration of power”, the head of one of its member clubs said.
Changes to the Ethics and Audit Committee Charter Each proposal was approved with around 75% of the vote at the FIA ​​Congress in Rwanda on Friday.
Opponents say the changes will reduce the FIA’s responsibility.
Before the vote, Thierry Willemarck, president of the Royal Touring Club of Belgium, expressed his concerns about the reform process to FIA members.
“This is a concentration of power that we have to worry about,” he told BBC Sport.
He said the “correct interpretation” of the changes was that they essentially gave the FIA ​​President and FIA Senate President – who are allies and part of the same leadership team – control of the Ethics and Audit Committee.
The recommendations were made at the end of a year when the Ethics and Audit Committee investigated multiple allegations about Bin Sulayem’s conduct.
British Motorsport chairman David Richards also expressed his opposition ahead of the vote at the FIA ​​Congress in Rwanda.
Richards told BBC Sport: “I have reservations about many of the issues surrounding these changes but I am challenging the process and hope to see more transparency in the future.
“This is not a question about what changes may or may not happen to the rules of the Senate or the Ethics Committee. This is a fundamental debate about how the internal governance of the FIA ​​should operate and the opportunity for a proper, public debate on these issues” .
Willemak added: “I’m not saying there are plans to abuse this, but if there is good governance there is usually an audit committee and in our case that committee will report to the Senate and the name of the audit committee should be Approved by the General Assembly.
“You should demonstrate that if members of the Assembly have concerns about certain practices, they can make a reference to the audit committee so that an investigation can be conducted independently of whoever is leading the federation.
“It’s just a matter of good practice and governance that you see in most organizations around the world.”
Both Richards and Willemak said the FIA’s regulatory review committee was bypassed in the process of drafting and approving the changes, which were submitted to world council members for an electronic vote rather than taking place at a conference discuss.
Willemaker stressed that the change passing through the committee was “not mandatory” and therefore “nothing illegal occurred in the process”.
But he added that he would seek to “benchmark” the new FIA ethics and audit regulations with those of other bodies.
He will “communicate the main differences we observed and then see what happens.”
Heads of state such as Belgium and the United Kingdom Austrian Members of the FIA ​​have now spoken out against the process of introducing the changes, with opposition said to be growing among European member clubs.
The vote approved the ethics code changes with 24.51% against and the audit committee with 23.83% against.
