F1 tragedy as FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s son Saif dies in horror road accident in Dubai
THE son of FIA chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem has died following a car accident.
Saif Ben Sulayem was tragically killed in Dubai on Tuesday.
The news has been confirmed by the FIA, but the president has requested privacy at this time.
Saif was a keen motorsport enthusiast like his father.
He had even tried to forge a career as a racing driver.
Saif competed in the 2016/17 UAE Formula 4 championship which saw him come up against current F1 drivers Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant.
However, he ultimately decided against taking it up full-time.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, 61, was elected FIA president in December 2021.
He has played a key role in restructuring the organisation, which oversees Formula 1, since replacing Jean Todt.
Last month, Ben Sulayem announced he was giving up hands-on control.
He said: “My stated objective was to be a non-executive president via the recruitment of a team of professional managers, which has now been largely completed.
“Therefore, going forward, your day-to-day contact for all matters on F1 will be with Nikolas [Tombazis, director of single-seater racing] and his team.
“I will focus on strategic matters with my leadership team.”