LAURA VILLARS Takes FIA Election Fight to February Court Date After Legal Block

March 12, 2025

• LAURA VILLARS isn’t backing down from her fight against the FIA’s election process, with her legal team securing a February 16, 2026 hearing date to challenge the validity of December’s presidential election. The 28-year-old Swiss-French racer may have been blocked from running against Mohammed Ben Sulayem, but she’s making it clear that questionable governance standards won’t go unchallenged in international motorsport.
• The systemic barriers that kept VILLARS out reveal everything wrong with FIA’s old boys’ club structure – she couldn’t assemble the required slate of regional vice-presidents because there’s literally only one South American on the official list, and Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone was already locked up by Ben Sulayem’s team. It’s a rigged game where diversity candidates face impossible mathematical odds, and VILLARS is calling it out.
• While the court ordered VILLARS and fellow blocked candidate Tim Mayer to pay 7,000 euros plus costs to the FIA, her lawyer Robin Binsard confirmed they’re pressing forward with the full case. The February hearing could potentially review, challenge, or annul the election results – meaning Ben Sulayem’s seemingly guaranteed second term might not be as secure as the FIA establishment thinks.

ABB FIA Formula E, bwt alpine formula one team, fia presidential election, motorsports governance