Motorsport as a whole has been ramping up its effort to achieve equality in the sport in recent years, with more of a spotlight being shone on female racers in particular.
After Jamie Chadwick’s venture with Williams and her phenomenal success in the W Series, it has been suggested that we will see a female driver on the Formula 1 grid in the next decade or so.
These efforts to achieve equality will unfortunately not be helped by the disgusting sexist comments that have surfaced after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s old website was discovered.
The Time have unearthed quotes from www.MohammedBenSulayem.com, where the FIA president claims that his likes and dislikes are “basically simple.”
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The FIA president reportedly made these comments 20 years ago and goes on to make some sexist comments when discussing these likes and dislikes.
“I love the desert and I love meeting new people,” wrote the 61-year-old.
He then claims that he dislikes talking “about money, nor do I like women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth.”
These sexist comments come as the latest fuel to the controversial fire surrounding the FIA president, who has come under fire for his Twitter activity in recent weeks.
Ben Sulayem has overstepped his role as FIA president by commenting on the financial value of Formula 1, as well as entertaining the Andretti-Cadillac project despite F1’s previous refusal of their advances.
The FIA have now issued a statement defending their president, claiming that these sexist comments to not reflect his actual views.
“The remarks in this achieved website from 2021 do not reflect the president’s beliefs,” said an FIA spokesperson.
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“He has a strong record on promoting women and equality in sport, which he is happy to be judged on. It was a central part of his manifesto and actions taken this year and the many years he served as Vice President for Sport prove this.”
The world is also awaiting a reply from Mohammed Ben Sulayem to a letter written to him by Liberal Democrat life peer Paul Scriven, who claimed that he initially tried to contact the FIA president back in March of 2022.
Scriven has expressed his concern over the FIA’s new rule which will ban any political gestures without prior approval in the sport, claiming that the likes of Lewis Hamilton have been wrongly silenced.