Setback for the FIA: motorsport federation lose two top staff members

Just when Mohammed Ben Sulayem is once again taking the spotlight for himself, two leading figures at the FIA are leaving. Director of Communications Luke Skipper and FIA Secretary General for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Jacob Bangsgaard have announced their departure. Officially, both have decided to leave the organisation as they seek a new challenge.

Both staff members are leaving at a time when their boss, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has been in the news. In Singapore, for instance, the Emirati made a request for the drivers to reduce their swearing. Not much later, Max Verstappen was given community service by the FIA stewards for saying the word 'f***ed'. On Thursday, Ben Sulayem complained in an interview that he is being treated unfairly by the British press. Another statement that raised eyebrows.

Skipper started at the FIA in 2022 as director of communications and public affairs. Bangsgaard had been appointed FIA secretary-general for mobility in 2023. Before that, he was director general of FIA Region I. He also worked for the FIA Foundation in London as director of international relations.

It is still unknown who will succeed the two leaders within the motorsport federation.