Villars vs. the FIA: Why the Fight for Fair Play Is on the Line
The 2025 election for president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, FIA, had been scheduled for December, but things got messy before a single vote had been cast. Swiss-French racer Laura Villars has filed legal action in Paris, claiming she was barred from standing due to election rules she claims are structurally unfair. The rule states that any candidate must name a full slate of vice‑presidents representing each global region on the FIA’s World Motorsport Council, including one from South America. There is only one eligible candidate, and she was already on the incumbent’s team. Villars argues that this setup practically guarantees that Mohammed Ben Sulayem runs unopposed. That’s a problem for democracy in motorsport. This matters as much as what happens on the track, for sponsors, teams, drivers, and fans. With Formula 1 expanding globally, this legal dispute raises the big question: Is motorsport still competitive behind the scenes?
The specific rule under fire says that anyone who wants to be president of the FIA must also hand in a full team list, including vice presidents from each of the regions the FIA covers. While that sounds reasonable, here’s the catch: if one region doesn’t have an independent candidate, then a challenger can’t fulfill the requirement. In this case, the only South American candidate eligible for the list is already committed to Ben Sulayem. Unfortunately, that shut the door to competitors like Laura Villars before they even got started. Critics call this a “stunt democracy,” among them Tim Mayer, who withdrew his own bid and said the system offers only the illusion of democracy. The FIA has defended itself by saying all these rules have been publicly available for months. For motorsport, the implications are massive. If people who run the sport can’t be challenged, then the speed, strategy, and fairness on the track might start to feel hollow by comparison.
Villars’ legal action is set for a hearing on November 10th in Paris, where she’s asking the FIA to explain exactly how their election rules work. Even if the court doesn’t change any rules, the challenge shines a spotlight on how motorsport is really run. For the FIA, this isn’t just paperwork; it’s a reputational risk for the teams, the drivers, the sponsors, and the broadcasters, each expecting accountability and transparency in how the sport is run. From a storytelling perspective, this is rich territory. The behind-the-scenes battle of motorsport, the fight for power, and the question of who really holds the wheel when the lights go out. Formula 1 fans often assume that the racing is chaotic and unpredictable, but what if the politics off the track are even more controlled? The outcome in Paris could set a new course for how F1 governs itself, on and off the track.
