NDA refusal leaves key FIA officials banned from meeting
Two FIA officials were barred from a meeting on Wednesday, it has emerged.
Key figures from F1’s governing body, including Motorsport UK chief David Richards, were banned from attending an FIA meeting on Wednesday.
Richards and the FIA’s deputy president for sport Robert Reid were denied access to a meeting of the World Motorsport Council after they refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to BBC Sport.
The NDA document reportedly “forbids members from discussing matters pertinent to the FIA outside official meetings”.
Insiders have claimed that the NDA was demanded directly by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over concerns that details could be leaked to the media, the BBC Sport report adds.
“As is routine in all organisations, the FIA implements procedures including non-disclosure agreements to ensure confidential relationships between all parties, to safeguard personal information, and to protect our regulatory interests,” an FIA spokesperson said.
"Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information undermines our ability to fully fulfil our mission and adversely impacts our capabilities to generate revenues to support our member clubs in our shared objective of growing motorsport participation, increasing accessibility, and cultivating innovation.
"The steps we have taken to preserve confidentiality have been overwhelmingly supported by a super majority of WMSC members.”
BBC Sport report that legal letters have been exchanged following the decision to bar Richards and Reid from the meeting, in which the addition of a mandatory second pit stop at the Monaco Grand Prix was approved.
It is the latest dispute involving Ben Sulayem, whose controversial reign as FIA president continues to make headlines.
In December, the FIA voted through rule changes to the statutes regarding auditing and ethics within the governing body that limit the ways in which its leadership can be held accountable.
They leave Ben Sulayem and the president of the senate, Carmelo Sanz De Barros, with the power to decide whether to take further action over any ethics complaints.
Ben Sulayem’s recent clampdown on swearing in F1 has aggravated the drivers, while he has also claimed there is bias against him in the British media.
The 63-year-old Emirati is seeking re-election for another four-year term when the presidency is decided at the end of 2025.
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