Last week, it was announced that Peter Bayer resigned as F1's general secretary, head of single-seater affairs and chief executive officer. Shaila-Ann Rao has been appointed as his successor. At Ferrari, there are some concerns about this appointment, Mattia Binotto said at the team bosses' press conference.
Last week, it was announced that Peter Bayer resigned as F1's general secretary, head of single-seater affairs and chief executive officer. Shaila-Ann Rao has been appointed as his successor. At Ferrari, there are some concerns about this appointment, Mattia Binotto said at the team bosses' press conference.
Between 2016 and 2018, Rao served as legal director at the FIA, then left for Mercedes to work as general counsel and special advisor to team owner Toto Wolff.
So Rao now holds a key position within the FIA. The word "conflict of interest" soon comes up, especially since his former employer is experiencing difficulties in Formula 1.
At Ferrari, they acknowledge that there are "concerns," but at the same time the Italian team is convinced that Rao will act completely independently now that she is employed by the International Automobile Federation.
"It is a concern, but only a concern," Binotto says. "It's up to them to make sure there are no conflicts of interest, to behave properly. And it's up to the president (Mohammed Ben Sulayem) to ensure that. I have the confidence that they will do that."
The Italian team boss has nothing but praise for Rao. "She is a great person, she has a lot of experience. She will certainly be able to do the job. I'm sure of that. I'm sure that through the behaviors, through the decisions, they will prove it's a wrong concern," he concluded.