The daily management of Formula 1 in Greek

The president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Mohamed Ben Sulayem, is stepping back from the day-to-day management of Formula One and handing over the… keys to the director of the FIA’s single-seater division, Nicolas Tombazi. The head of the world governing body informed Formula 1 teams in a letter on Monday that he is stepping down from his day-to-day involvement with motorsport’s crown jewel and is leaving those duties to the 54-year-old Greek aerodynamicist.

It is recalled that Ben Sulayem was elected to the presidency of the FIA ​​in December 2021 and announced a plan to restructure the world federation’s operations in Formula 1. This included, among other things, a review of the control of the race, which was caused by the much-discussed end of the season the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as well as changes to the FIA’s senior management, such as the appointment of a chief executive for the first time. As part of this process, Sulagem informed the teams that he is taking a step back from day-to-day management and that he is leaving this role to Topazis.

The FIA ​​last month unveiled its plan for an overhaul of Formula One’s senior structure. Under this, Nikolas Tombazis, who was previously the FIA’s head of technical single-seater affairs, took on the role of director of single-seaters, with the various sporting, technical, financial and strategy and operations directors reporting to him. Meanwhile, Steve Nielsen has been appointed sporting director in an attempt to fill the void left by the death of former sporting director Charlie Whiting in 2019.

Ben Sulaghem will continue to be involved in high-level decision-making and focus on strategic matters, but Topazis will be the primary point of contact for Formula 1 teams.

Source: RES-MPE