FIA president plans to scrap age limits for office holders

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to end age limits for people holding office in motorsport's governing body. The proposal is due to go before the FIA General Assembly next month for approval, BBC Sport reports.

The FIA is the body behind the rulebook for Formula 1 and many other racing series. Its statutes currently bar anyone over 75 from standing as part of a presidential team. That cap has already moved once in a short time. In 2023, during Ben Sulayem's first term, the FIA set an age limit of 70. It raised the limit to 75 in 2024.

The proposal document, seen by BBC Sport, argues that age limits could reduce the number of qualified candidates eligible for election. The case is about who is allowed to stand, rather than who is running the sport now.

Ben Sulayem is 64. He was first elected FIA president in 2021 and was re-elected unopposed last December, after no other candidate was able to stand. Before that vote, his rivals had disputed the FIA's election rules, as the Associated Press reported. Earlier, Tim Mayer had failed to meet the requirements to challenge him, the Guardian reported in October 2025.

The age proposal follows a change approved in June. The FIA removed term limits for its presidency, which had previously capped a president at 12 years. Racer reported that the same decision tightened the eligibility criteria for candidates. Taken together, the two moves would let a president stay in post for as long as they can stand for election.

For teams and drivers, the proposal concerns who runs the governing body, not how the cars race. Nothing changes until the General Assembly votes. If members approve it, the FIA's age cap would be gone, and the next election would be open to a wider pool of candidates.