The restructuring of FIA management has been given the green light

The Rwanda General Assembly approved changes to the FIA's statute that affect the role of the ethics and audit committee within the motorsport governing body.

Under the brand new plans, the compliance officer's duties would mean a transfer of power to the FIA ​​president and the president of its senate.

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It would also remove the audit committee's authority to independently investigate financial matters, and is currently only required “at the request of the Senate President.”

The FIA ​​gave three predominant reasons for making changes to its regulations, one in every of them being to stop leaks to the media.

The statement regarding the changes made to the Ethics Committee stated: 'Firstly, to preserve and strengthen the independence of the Ethics Committee by reducing the involvement of the FIA ​​administration in its operation.

“The Ethics Committee previously reported only to the president, now it reports to each the president and the president of the Senate.

“The commission now has the ability to independently assess whether to open an investigation.

“Secondly, in consequence of continuous leaks of confidential materials to the media, including ethics committee reports, it’s now proposed to limit the dissemination of all ethics committee reports.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner and Mohammed ben Sulayem, president of the FIA

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

“This doesn’t prevent the president or the president of the senate from engaging members of the senate or other members of the FIA ​​or its staff in discussing or implementing any recommendations of the ethics committee.

“Finally, ethics committee reports may often contain material of a confidential nature, including criminal or security matters.

“It was subsequently vital to limit the automated sharing of this information with many FIA members and employees.

“Limiting the distribution of the report will also protect the complainant and the person under investigation.”

Regarding the audit committee, the FIA ​​states that its function is to act as an “advisory body to the senate”.

The statement added: “The purpose of the changes is to make clear that the audit committee is an advisory body to the senate and that it’s to operate throughout the limits of the FIA ​​statute.

“The proposed changes simply make clear that the audit committee is a subsidiary body of the senate and that the inner regulations of the audit committee will likely be approved by the senate in the longer term.

“The Audit Committee retains its authority to provide assistance and conduct investigations when requested to do so by the Senate President.”

David Richards and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA

Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The proposals were met with criticism from several senior members of the F1 team, who expressed their concerns to Autosport.

Both David Richards, the UK representative on the World Motor Sport Council, and the top of the Austrian Motor Sport Federation, Oliver Schmerold, have also expressed concerns concerning the proposals, which might remove FIA ​​management from responsibility for mismanagement.

Meanwhile, the FIA ​​announced a big improvement in its financial situation. The FIA ​​forecasts an operating results of EUR 2.2 million in 2024 in comparison with EUR -24 million in 2021.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “This achievement is the results of our commitment to reform the organization within the areas of management and finance.

“The recent FIA management inherited a financial situation that was unsustainable in 2022. We have worked hard to cut back the numerous deficit and stabilize the general financial health of the federation.

“We have implemented cost containment measures and revenue generation strategies to put the FIA ​​on a more sustainable financial footing and achieve our core objective of supporting our member clubs.”