"Of course they did": F1 fans react to the FIA sacking the head of inclusion & diversity

The FIA has taken another drastic measure during the 2025 F1 season as they sacked Sara Mariani, the head of Inclusion and Diversity, who joined a list of senior figures that had left the regulatory body over the past year. The axing of such a critical figure soon caught the eye of fans, who shared how FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is at the helm of all shenanigans.

Since taking the presidency in 2021, Sulayem has made several changes in the FIA and F1's larger operating circle. Implementing stricter rules for swearing was the first one that got on the nerves of the fans and the drivers last year, as Max Verstappen was soon given the punishment for using expletive words in the press conference.

With a negative image of the FIA soon building in the F1 landscape and the larger motorsport realm, many senior figures of the organisation started to leave the international federation. However, some were sacked, and Mariani was one of them. This angered the fans, as they wrote:

"Of course they did! Ben [Sulayem] needs to be sacked too."

Purple Jay

@007ina911

LINK

Of course they did!

Ben needs to be sacked too.

"Everyone leaving except the man at the top who should've been the first to go," one fan wrote.

"MBS needs ousted," another fan wrote.

Here are a few more reactions as fans shared their discontent with Sulayem's leadership:

"It won’t happen, but my god this guy simply has to lose the next election," one netizen wrote.

"My goodness, how I loathe this organisation. That man needs to go asap," another netizen wrote.

"BS should be the one sacked 🙄," another netizen shared.

On the other hand, no candidate has revealed concrete intentions of standing against MBS in the FIA presidency elections this year.

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FIA President shares his honest verdict on transforming F1 ahead of the end of his tenure

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna - Source: Getty

Though no one has expressed their full intent to run for the presidency apart from Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Carlos Sainz Sr. is understood to be seriously contemplating a potential filing of the candidature. Despite Sainz seemingly appearing as a heavyweight, Sulayem is focused on earning a second term.

Talking about his experience as the FIA President, Sulayem told Reuters:

"Do I need more time? Yes. Has it been easy? Never. Has it been enjoyable? Sometimes. So, I am going (to stand). I consulted with most of the members. I speak to them.

"[I want to] keep growing motorsport. To make the FIA stronger and stronger. This is my ambition and that's what I will do."

On the other hand, the next F1 Grand Prix will be held in Austria, as the weekend would begin on June 27 and the race will take place on June 29.