FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, head of motorsport’s governing physique, has stepped again from overseeing System One in a day-to-day capability.

Ben Sulayem was elected on a manifesto which included the restructure of race management and the FIA’s F1 operation as a complete.

FIA single-seater boss Nikolas Tombazis will take over that portion of Ben Sulayem’s position, a call communicated to the groups on Monday, that means the previous Ferrari man will probably be their predominant level of contact going ahead.

The timing of the choice is curious, with Ben Sulayem more and more discovering himself at odds with F1 and its 10 groups since taking on 12 months in the past.

The FIA insists the president’s choice has been within the pipeline for a while, pointing to the appointment of Natalie Robyn as its first-ever CEO final 12 months.

Ben Sulayem will stay concerned in strategic F1 issues and top-level choice making.

There have been quite a few battle factors between F1 and Ben Sulayem final 12 months, together with the FIA’s push to ban drivers from sporting jewellery throughout races and their delay over confirming the enlargement from three to 6 dash races per season.

Tensions have continued to boil over throughout F1’s low season in December and January. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali this week moved to make clear the FIA’s current clampdown on policitcal protest, introduced by the governing physique on the finish of 2022, saying “F1 won’t ever put a gag on anybody”. Drivers have additionally expressed concern over the FIA ruling.

Final month F1 wrote a scathing letter to the president after he commented on the worth of F1 following a Bloomberg report of a $20 billion bid from the Saudi Arabia Public Funding Fund (PIF), which Ben Sulayem mentioned was an “inflated price ticket”.

Ben Sulayem and F1 additionally appeared to disagree over Andretti’s proposed entry with Cadillac, which was reported once more in early January. Ben Sulayem tweeted that he had been shocked by the “hostile response” to the bid, with a big majority of F1’s 10 groups against diluting F1’s present revenues with one other stakeholder.

The FIA was additionally pressured to concern an announcement defending Ben Sulayem final week after sexist feedback from his outdated web site surfaced from 20 years in the past.

A report in The Instances quoted him as saying he didn’t like “girls who assume they’re smarter than males, for they aren’t in fact”, which appeared in a web site which might not be learn on-line.

The FIA assertion mentioned: “The remarks on this archived web site from 2001 don’t mirror the president’s beliefs. He has a powerful file on selling girls and equality in sport, which he’s blissful to be judged on.

“It was a central a part of his manifesto and actions taken this 12 months and the numerous years he served as vice-president for sport show this.”