Controversial rule changes by Formula 1’s governing body approved on Friday are a “worrying concentration of power”, according to the head of one of its member clubs.
Changes in laws related to ethics and audit committees Each was passed with about 75 percent approval at the FIA General Assembly in Rwanda on Friday.
Opponents say the changes will reduce accountability in the FIA.
Before the vote, Thierry Willemark, head of the Royal Touring Club of Belgium, expressed his concerns to FIA members about the process by which the changes were made.
He told BBC Sports: “It’s the concentration of power that we should be worried about.”
He said the “correct interpretation” of the changes was that they essentially put the FIA president and FIA Senate president, who are allied and on the same leadership team, in control of the ethics and audit committees. are
His recommendation comes at the end of a year in which ethics and audit committees have investigated numerous allegations about Bin Salem’s conduct.
Motorsport UK chairman David Richards also voiced his opposition ahead of the vote at the FIA General Assembly in Rwanda.
Richards told BBC Sports: “I have concerns about a number of issues with the changes but it is a process that I am challenging and would like to see more transparency in the future.
“This is not an issue of what changes may or may not be made to the rules of the Senate or the Ethics Committee, this is a fundamental debate about how governance should work within the FIA and a proper, open debate on these matters. There’s an opportunity.”
Willemark added: “I don’t say that anyone intends to abuse it, but with good governance you would normally have an audit committee that would report to the senate in our case and the audit committee. The difference must be approved by the General Assembly.
“And you must prove that the members of the General Assembly are likely to refer to the audit committee if they suspect some conduct so that an inquiry can be conducted independently of whoever is leading the federation.
“It’s just a matter of good practice and governance that you see in most organizations around the world.”
Both Richards and Willimark said the FIA’s State Review Commission had been ignored in the process of developing and approving the changes, which were e-voted by World Council members without debate before the General Assembly. was put.
Willymark stressed that the changes “didn’t have to go through the commission” so “nothing illegal happened in the process”.
But he added that he would try to “benchmark” the FIA’s new rules on ethics and conduct audits with other bodies.
He will “state the main differences we observe and then see what happens”.
Belgian leaders, British and Austrian FIA members have now publicly voiced their opposition to the process of introducing the changes, and there is said to be a groundswell of opposition among European member clubs.
24.51% opposed the ethical changes and 23.83% votes passed in the audit committee.
