F1 star delivers major blow to Wolff FIA bid

F1 Academy chief Susie Wolff has been dealt a blow in her rumored run at the FIA presidency by a former driver.

Reports in Italy have claimed that she's considering a run at the role, currently held by the controversial former rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Following the report from Italian media, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill publicly backed Wolff for the role, although she is yet to have confirmed or denied the claim personally, with reports so far being purely based on rumours.

The former Williams F1 test driver has her focus fully set on the upcoming F1 Academy championship, which heads into its third campaign after its inaugural season in 2023.

The all-female racing series has reimagined the career path for young women looking to further their success in motorsport, with all 10 F1 teams backing a driver or providing a livery for the six F1 Academy teams to use for the 2025 season.

Ex-F1 star poses issue should Wolff run for FIA role

Although Wolff has neither confirmed nor denied the rumour that she is interested in becoming the new president of F1's governing body, Ben Sulayem is free to run for the role in this year's election and also again in 2029.

All FIA presidents are permitted to serve for a maximum of 12 years, limiting them to three terms, and with Ben Sulayem's first term coming to an end this year, he is expected to run for the role again.

Since stepping in to replace Jean Todt in the role in 2021, Ben Sulayem has faced criticism for the way he has continued to run the sport, triggering a debate most recently among the drivers and the wider paddock following his suggestion that team radio should be banned.

After reigning champion Max Verstappen served a community service-style punishment for swearing during an FIA press conference last year, the debate has failed to be squashed over whether F1 drivers should be more considerate with their choice of language on the broadcast and via team radio.

Speaking to Oddspedia about Ben Sulayem and the potential for Wolff to replace him, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has weighed in on the ongoing debate.

Discussing Wolff's chances should she choose to run for FIA president, the former Williams star said: "If you ask the UK, I'm sure they're going to say, we're going to vote for Susie Wolff.

"But if you ask 80 per cent of South America or Africa, they're going to vote for Mohammed Ben Sulayem."

"I understand what he is trying to do, but the swearing and the passion and the screaming are what the fans love."

"It's such a big part of the sport, but they say they don't want it or mustn’t have it," he continued.

"But they can control that. If you don't want it, why are you putting it on air? You have a choice of the message not being aired. You have 20 drivers talking and you pick the wildest and most outrageous message to play because it's the best for content.

"You want the best content, but at the same time you want them to be angels and not emotional. You want drivers to go side by side to a corner, bang wheels and maybe one of those two guys ends up in the tyres and the FIA expects him to say on the radio,’ My gosh that was ruthless.’"

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