There could be a change in the FIA Presidency at the end of the year as Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s first term will come to an end in December.
As of the time of writing, there are no official candidates that have been put forward to oppose Ben Sulayem in December’s elections, but that could change in the upcoming months.
Carlos Sainz Sr has expressed his interest in running against Ben Sulayem, although senior staff within the FIA have reportedly already expressed concern with the Spaniard’s bid due to his conflict of interest with his son, Carlos Sainz Jr, racing in F1.
Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis Hamilton, was also reportedly considering a bid before the FIA handed him a senior job within the governing body, helping develop young drivers.
With the topic on the minds of the motorsport world, Damon Hill has suggested one person who he thinks might be the ideal candidate after seeing his comments on the social media website X (formerly Twitter).
Damon Hill backs Alex Wurz for FIA President after comments on Imola Safety Car
Although Hill has backed a potential bid from Sainz Sr, the 1996 world champion also believes that former F1 driver Alex Wurz could be a contender.
Wurz is currently chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), the union made up of all current F1 drivers on the grid which discusses important issues such as safety and regulatory aspects.
The GPDA penned a letter to Ben Sulayem in response to “trivial” issues being punished by the governing body last year, which gained the support of all the drivers.
Hill believes Wurz would be an ideal fit for the job, although the Austrian has not announced any plans to run.
“Expert opinion @alex_wurz Road Safety King on @fia Imola VSC. FiA President? Cap fits.”
Alex Wurz explains confusion over Safety Car procedures in Imola
FIA Race Control decided to throw a full Safety Car for Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s stricken Mercedes at the end of the race, even though he stopped on track at the same point as Esteban Ocon who also retired with a problem earlier in the race and only created a Virtual Safety Car.
After F1 fans were left in disbelief in Imola at how long it took to restart the race, Wurz explained why the two scenarios differed in a post on social media.
“It seemed to be a similar incident, but I think the Race Director has done the absolute right decisions because where Esteban Ocon’s car came to stop, it was reasonably simple to push it back into the opening. Kimi Antonelli stopped higher, the grass is there and it was just too far,” said Wurz.
“So the Race Director had to deploy the lifting vehicle, and the moment that is on track to get to the car, he has to call a Safety Car. Let’s not forget what happened with what happened in Japan with Jules Bianchi and the drivers, and everyone said we need to learn from this, so his decision was not inconsistent.”
Wurz competed in 69 races in his F1 career across six seasons with Benetton, McLaren and Williams, having achieved three podiums.
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