Mohammed Ben Sulayem took on Lewis Hamilton, mighty Mercedes and the troubles of beleaguered Formula 1 but still had a word for a young Emirati karting superstar.
The 60-year-old Emirati walked into the record books as the first non-European president of the sport’s governing body, the FIA, winning more than two-thirds of the vote.
“How many people have talent but do they have opportunity? If we can bring the two together, it might even be talented people somewhere else. There are so many regions, I am not biased for my region.
That’s to put it mildly. A passion for motor racing triggered by a visit to the Ferrari Grand Prix pit on Yas Island when he was just five has seen Al Dhaheri follow in the footsteps of both Hamilton and controversial new F1 king Max Verstappen to become a world karting champion himself, with his sights set on F1.
In a steely first public appearance, the 14-time Middle East Rally Champion refused to be drawn into tokenism or trying to win public, or F1 team, support with glib gestures.
“It’s easy to be nice to people. And it is cheap to be nice. And it’s also to motivate people. But definitely, if there is any breach, there is no forgiveness in this,” said Ben Sulayem.
Hamilton and his Mercedes team failed to attend the ceremony after the FIA’s all-powerful race director Michael Masi engineered a final lap winner-take-all sprint that allowed Verstappen to seize an unexpected victory and the coveted driver’s world title.
The seven-time champion has gone into hiding and failed to comment publicly, even to his prolific social media following, as his boss Toto Wolff hinted his disillusioned driver could even quit the sport entirely.
Hamilton’s mood was not quite dark enough to cancel a visit to the UK the day before the Paris gala on Thursday to collect his knighthood from the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles.
As a garlanded former driver himself Ben Sulayem professed some sympathy for Hamilton’s distress.
But he added: “Rules are rules, humans made them, they can be improved and changed by humans. I know Lewis is really sad and one word I would use is broken.
“If you talk to me about the credibility of the FIA, yes, we rely on good statutes, good teams there is always a place for improvement. We just have to look at where we are,” said Ben Sulayem.
The extreme public reaction has led to calls for Masi to be sacked but Ben Sulayem backed the decision by the previous administration to await the findings of an internal investigation.
“As a driver I would be so upset for a while but time is factor that will cool and [bring] the new. The holidays are here, Christmas and the New Year, and then we can start afresh, no doubt.”
Qatar and Saudi Arabia staged their first Grands Prix this year, joining Bahrain and Abu Dhabi on the calendar.
But the region also hosts Formula E, the Dakar Rally, world endurance, Extreme E and a MotoGP.
Ben Sulayem recalled how he was forced to race as plain Mohammed Ben when his career started because motorsport was “not acceptable”.
“When I started winning they saw my photos and then they accepted it,” he added.
