French court refuses to pause FIA election; legal battle pushed to 2026
Laura Villars’ late bid to throw the FIA’s presidential vote into extra time has been waved away by a French judge, clearing the path for Mohammed Ben Sulayem to be re-elected unopposed on December 12 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Villars, one of three challengers who’d publicly declared for the job alongside Tim Mayer and Virginie Philippot, took the FIA to the Paris Judicial Court on an urgent basis, arguing the election process effectively locked out opposition. The judge didn’t bite. The case will be heard on its merits, not as an emergency, with the first hearing set for February 16, 2026.
“The urgent applications judge held that this dispute must be heard on the merits, and we will therefore continue this litigation against the FIA before the judges sitting on the merits,” Villars’ lawyer, Me Robin Binsard, said in a statement. Her camp maintains the presidential election “may be reviewed, challenged, or annulled by the court,” a claim sources close to the process have downplayed.
The FIA, for its part, confirmed the December vote is going ahead. “The French Court has issued its decision on 3rd December, confirming that the election for the President of the FIA will proceed on 12th December at the FIA General Assemblies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,” the federation said, adding it remains focused on the General Assemblies and discussions with member clubs.
At the heart of the dispute is a dry but decisive rule: every presidential candidate must file a complete “List” — essentially a cabinet — including vice-presidents representing each FIA region. Those vice-presidents must be drawn from the pool of nominees to the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC).
This year, South America produced just one WMSC nominee: Fabiana Ecclestone. With her support committed to Ben Sulayem, that left no other eligible figure from the region available to appear on a rival slate. Result: Villars, Mayer and Philippot couldn’t assemble compliant Lists and were ruled ineligible.
Worth noting, there was no formal barrier to other South American ASNs nominating their own WMSC candidates. Chile, Peru, Argentina and others had the same opportunity as Brazil but didn’t put forward alternatives. In FIA politics, that groundwork — persuading regional clubs to nominate a friendly name — is part of the campaign long before any ballots are cast.
From here, the December election looks straightforward: Ben Sulayem stands alone and is on course for a second term. The court action lingers in the background and could yet prompt a conversation about how the statutes handle regional representation and the nomination bottleneck that surfaced this year. The likeliest outcome, insiders suggest, is a recommendation to review the rules rather than any attempt to rerun or overturn the 2025 vote.
For now, the FIA’s focus shifts to Tashkent and the business of governing, with a legal shadow that won’t be fully addressed until well into 2026.
