Governance

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has served as President of the FIA since 2021 and was re-elected by FIA Member Clubs for a second term in December 2025. During his presidency, he has focused on strengthening governance, sustainability, and safety across global motor sport and mobility, and on delivering long-term stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship, including overseeing the successful negotiation and signing of the recent Concorde Agreement.

Prior to becoming President, and as the first non-European elected to the role, Mohammed Ben Sulayem enjoyed a distinguished career as a driver, winning the FIA Middle East Rally Championship a record fourteen times and claiming 61 international victories between 1983 and 2002. He was named UAE Sportsman of the Century and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to sport and civic leadership.

A pioneer in the development of motor sport in the Middle East, he founded the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the MENA Karting Championship Nations Cup and played a central role in the creation and delivery of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009.

Beyond competition, Mohammed Ben Sulayem is a patron of a wide range of charities and a leading advocate for road safety in the UAE and internationally. He actively supports the education and development of young drivers and officials, as well as training and research initiatives aimed at improving motorsport safety. A UN Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism in the sport sector, he is also the founder of the United Against Online Abuse campaign, a global coalition of more than 75 partners committed to tackling online hate in sport.

In December 2025, Mohammed Ben Sulayem was awarded the Order of Dustlik (Friendship) – Uzbekistan’s highest state honour for foreign nationals in recognition of unity and cooperation – by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, HE Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Over his career, he has also been honoured to receive Medals of Honour from Jordan (1986, 1999), Lebanon (1999) and Bahrain (2004), alongside the President’s Cup in 1987 presented by President Amine Gemayel of Lebanon.