What did Günther Steiner say about FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem?

Former Haas team boss Günther Steiner said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem “sometimes gets too involved in the sport” and believes he should have others around him “to do the work for him”.

Ben Sulayem recently claimed that the FIA ​​will “never get the credit” for the recent success of Formula 1 and motorsport as a whole, and was vocal in his criticism of Formula 1 drivers swearing on team radio.

Günther Steiner: FIA President “sometimes interferes too much in the sport”

Ben Sulayem, a 14-time Middle East rally champion, took over the FIA ​​presidency from Jean Todt in 2021 and has been at the helm during a period of enormous success for Formula 1 after the FIA ​​launched an expressions of interest process for his Instruction in 2023 to potential Formula 1 teams to potentially expand the grid – although Formula 1 management ultimately rejected Andretti-Cadillac's offer as talks progressed.

The former Haas team boss explained that while he has a good personal relationship with Ben Sulayem, his approach to the FIA ​​presidency is such that he is “not doing himself any favors” by getting involved in the sporting side of things The FIA ​​​​is the governing body of Formula 1.

“I have known Mohammed for a very long time,” said Steiner Sky F1 Podcast.

“He comes from rallying, I come from rallying, I spent quite a bit of time with him and I like Mohammed as a person. I always liked him.

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“He's actually a good character, but as president I think he sometimes gets too involved in the sport and I think he's doing himself a disservice.

“You need people to run the organization because it is a big job to be president of an association like the FIA ​​and if you get involved in the day-to-day operations, I don't think you have the time to do it at the level , on which it needs to be done.

“In my opinion he should just have good people around him to do the work for him and he is always committed to it and sometimes he gets criticized because of it.

“When you find yourself in positions like this, you have to get used to being criticized. You can't always just say, “Oh, how good you are.” NO.

“I mean, when you get praise, you get criticism, and that's when you're a public figure. That's part of it, but you have to live with it.

“You can’t be everyone’s friend. I mean, that’s just not going to happen, not even me.”

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