Two high-profile motorsport figures were kept out of the most recent meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council this week, in a dispute over not signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

FIA deputy director for sport Robert Reid and Motorsport UK chairman David Richards were among those barred from attending the meeting, after refusing to sign a new NDA over reported concerns raised by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over leaks to the media.

FIA bars two high-profile motorsport personnel from latest WMSC meeting

An initial report from the BBC claimed Reid and Richards refused to sign a stricter form of NDA, under which members of the council already operated, with reported stipulations including being forbidden from discussing matters pertinent to the FIA outside official settings.

While legal letters are claimed to have been exchanged and questions were raised about the validity of the latest meeting of the WMSC due to the absences of those to not attend, including Reid and Richards, PlanetF1.com understands the meeting held was valid and in accordance with WMSC governance, though FIA regulations state those on the council “may attend” and “have the right to vote” on matters within meetings.

Within the latest WMSC gathering, it was confirmed that the Monaco Grand Prix would become a mandatory two-stop race from the 2025 season onwards, while the FIA also set out its targets for the next five years under the ‘Vision 2030’ moniker.

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An FIA spokesperson told PlanetF1.com: “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.

“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.”

FIA president Ben Sulayem is expected to seek re-election to his position at the end of 2025, and does not yet have any publicly declared opponents.

He has described British media criticism of his presidency as “unfair” in recent months, and most recently called for the return of V10 engines in Formula 1.

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