George Russell urges Mohammed Ben Sulayem “to tell us the FIA’s objective”. George Russell has demanded greater clarity from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

George Russell has once again called on Mohammed Ben Sulayem to outline his objectives for the motorsport governing body amid ongoing tensions between the former Arab rally driver and Formula 1 drivers.

The 2024 season ended with the GPDA still awaiting a formal response to its request to treat its members as “adults,” following a public letter that criticized Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s attempts to curb swearing.

This is part of a broader push by the governing body to prevent drivers from unintentionally encouraging fans to insult race officials through their comments.

The first step in these new measures was the introduction of a ban on wearing jewelry, deemed hazardous in the event of a fire during a crash. This rule, implemented under Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership since he became president in early 2022, had already sparked discontent among drivers.

After the drivers’ letter was posted on the GPDA‘s Instagram account in early November, Mohammed Ben Sulayem later told media, including *Motorsport.com*, that how he governs the FIA “is none of their business.”

When asked for his thoughts on the matter during the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, George Russell said, “I honestly don’t know what’s going through his head, but as we mentioned the last time we discussed this, I asked him what his next move would be.”

“I didn’t expect it to be something that, two weeks later, appears to have become quite serious.”

George Russell was referring to the Federation’s development of a proposal to handle compliance issues directly under Mohammed Ben Sulayem and the Senate President, a change that was subsequently approved by the FIA General Assembly this month.

“I honestly don’t know what this change means for governance in terms of compliance,” George Russell continued in an interview with several media outlets, including *Motorsport.com*. “I don’t even fully understand what it entails, but it seems to be a rather significant matter. And I was quite surprised that it was stated something else would follow two weeks later. What is it? Where do we stand? What’s the ultimate goal? I think it would be fantastic for all of us to understand the FIA’s objectives. And it would also be great if the president could tell us what his vision for the FIA is—maybe then we could see things from his perspective and gain a better understanding.”