The FIA remains under constant pressure from F1 bosses amid feedback from drivers about messed up rules.
The FIA remains under constant pressure from F1 bosses amid feedback from drivers about messed up rules.
The FIA has fired monoparts chief and chief executive Peter Bayer amid growing tension and rumors of discontent between them and F1 bosses. Bayer will be replaced by Shaila-Ann Rao, former special advisor to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Since 2017, Bayer has overseen the FIA's sports department in general, rising to the position of executive director in 2021, before the controversial season finale that saw FIA racing director Michael Masi fired.
Bayer oversaw the investigation that led to Masi's dismissal, judging that the Australian failed to properly implement F1 regulations. With the FIA under pressure from F1 bosses over public disputes, for example, Lewis Hamilton being hit by the useless rule on jewelry forced on him by President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, they clearly saw fit to make a change.
Reports earlier this week stated that F1 bosses are "deeply dissatisfied" with the FIA this season and fear they may be damaging the sport. The regulatory body's messes in Monaco - delayed starts and dropped starts, Ferrari's protest based on the race director's copied notes from last year, etc. - have only served to increase tension.
An FIA statement from this Wednesday reads, "The International Automobile Federation announces the departure of Peter Bayer, who has served as Secretary General of Sport since 2017 and also as F1's Executive Director since 2021."
"The FIA warmly thanks him for the achievements he has contributed to the development of motorsport over the past five years. In particular, he has overseen, with the entire Sports Division, the building of the single-seater pyramid from Kart to F1, the creation of the new World Rally-Raid Championship, as well as the improvement of safety and sustainability in all disciplines. The FIA wishes him all the best for the future."
"Peter Bayer will be replaced on an interim basis by Shaila-Ann Rao, who has just returned to the FIA. Shaila-Ann Rao previously held the position of Legal Director at the FIA from mid-2016 until the end of 2018, before spending the last three and a half years at Mercedes as General Counsel consecutively and then Special Advisor to its CEO and team boss Toto Wolff."