Why one F1 team boss is “convinced” Ben Sulayem drama will stop soon

Ben Sulayem has dominated the F1 media headlines during the off-season over a range of issues.

He started the year off by announcing the FIA’s desire for new teams to join the sport by opening the "expressions of interest"

Andretti-Cadillac shortly after announced their intention to join F1 by 2026 - something that was met by a lukewarm reception by F1.

The drama continued as he took to social media again to question the “inflated” reported $20bn by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

His comments didn’t go down well with F1 or its owners Liberty Media, with the sport’s lawyers writing to the FIA to criticise Ben Sulayem for commenting on such matters.

Things got worse for Ben Sulayem when a report by British newspaper The Times revealed a number of sexist comments towards women on his old personal website

With the F1 season starting in just over a month in Bahrain, Vasseur is confident the drama surrounding the FIA president will calm down once the racing action gets underway.

“I'm really convinced that as soon as we will put the cars on track, this will disappear a little bit off the screen,” Vasseur said. “For sure we'll have discussions but, as always, I hope that we'll be able to stay focused on the sporting side.”

While Vasseur has a point, it’s unlikely the drama surrounding Ben Sulayem will go away, particularly given the FIA’s stance on political gestures.

It’s likely going to be a question that is raised to the drivers, like Lewis Hamilton, during the early days of pre-season testing.