| Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | FIA |
| Formation | 20 June 1904 (as the AIACR) |
| Type | Sports federation |
| Legal status | Voluntary association |
| Purpose/focus | Motorists' issues Motorsports |
| Headquarters | Place de la Concorde |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Region served | International |
| Membership | 222 member organisations worldwide |
| Official languages | English French Italian |
| President | Jean Todt |
| Main organ | General Assembly |
| Affiliations | FIA Institute FIA Foundation World Health Organization Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development World Tourism Organization UN Environment Programme |
| Website | www.fia.com |
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. To the general public, the FIA is mostly known as the governing body for many auto racing events.
Headquartered at 8, Place de la Concorde, Paris, the FIA consists of 213 national member organisations in 125 countries worldwide.[1] Its current president is Jean Todt.
As is the case with football's FIFA, the FIA is generally known by its French name and acronym, even in non French-speaking countries, but is occasionally rendered as International Automobile Federation.
Its most prominent role is in the licencing and arbitration of Formula One motor racing. The FIA along with the FIM also certify land speed record attempts.
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The Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) was founded in Paris on 20 June 1904.
In 1922, the FIA delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI), an autonomous committee that later became the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA). A restructuring of the FIA in 1993 led to the disappearance of the FISA, putting motor racing under direct management of the FIA.
The true history of Formula One began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA's) standardisation of rules. Then in 1950, the FIA organised the first Drivers World Championship.
The World Sportscar Championship was created in 1953, and was the first points series for sports car racing in the world. The championship was solely for manufacturers up to 1981. From 1981, a Drivers Championship title was introduced and from 1985 the manufacturers title was replaced by a Teams Championship. The last World Sportscar Championship titles were awarded in 1992.
In 1973, the FIA organised the first World Rally Championship. The 42nd Auto Rally of Monte-Carlo became the first ever FIA World Rally Championship event.
In 1987, the FIA sanctioned the first World Touring Car Championship. Initially a one-off series, the title was revived in 2005.
In 1993, the National Hot Rod Association was officially recognised by the FIA World Motorsports Council and the FIA Drag Racing Commission was formed. FISA was dissolved, and its activities placed directly under the FIA.
The FIA General Assembly is The Federation's supreme governing body, consisting of the presidents of the FIA's numerous member clubs.
The head of the FIA and chairman of the General Assembly is the President. The President is elected to a four-year term by the FIA General Assembly, and from October 2005 onward will not be permitted to serve more than two terms. The previous President, who took office in 1993 and began his fourth term in 2005, is Max Mosley. Mosley did not stand for re-election in October 2009, with Jean Todt being elected president.[2]
The 10-member FIA Senate consists of the President of the Senate; the current and previous Presidents of the FIA; the Deputy President for the FIA Mobility and the Automobile group; the Deputy President for FIA Sport group; and five further members elected by the General Assembly. From FIA Statue #17: "The Senate takes the decisions required by the management of the FIA when circumstances do not permit a meeting of the Committee or of the World Councils, especially in cases of emergency; decisions thus taken must be confirmed during the next meeting of the Committee or of the relevant World Council."
The Senate also makes accounting and budget decisions, preparing draft budgets for the World Councils. The Senate forms sub-Committees on subjects such as Commercial Promotions, in order to make recommendations and review proposals.
The FIA World Council for Mobility and the Automobile governs all non-sporting FIA activities, and is headed by the Deputy President for Mobility and the Automobile.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council governs all the sporting events regulated by the FIA. It is also responsible for the promotion of safety in worldwide motorsport, the encouragement of standardized regulations, and the promotion of motorsport in new markets, including developing countries. The council consists of the FIA President, and Deputy President, seven FIA vice-presidents, and 17 other members. The seventeen others must represent a national sporting authority for at least one international event.
The FIA International Court of Appeal is the final appeal tribunal for international motor sport. It resolves disputes brought before it by any of motorsport’s National Sporting Authorities worldwide, or by the President of the FIA. It can also settle non-sporting disputes brought by national motoring organizations affiliated to the FIA.
Other organisations and posts include the Mobility and Automobile commissions, sporting commissions, the FIA Deputy President for Sport, and the FIA Secretariat.
| President | Years as president |
|---|---|
| Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus | |
| Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt | 1904–1931 |
| Robert de Vogüé | 1931–1936 |
| Jehan de Rohan-Chabot | 1936–1946 |
| Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile | |
| Jehan de Rohan-Chabot | 1946–1958 |
| Hadelin de Liedekerke Beaufort | 1958–1963 |
| Filippo Caracciolo di Castagneto | 1963–1965 |
| Wilfrid Andrews | 1965–1971 |
| Amaury de Merode | 1971–1975 |
| Paul Metternich | 1975–1985 |
| Jean-Marie Balestre | 1985–1993 |
| Max Mosley | 1993–2009 |
| Jean Todt | 2009-present |
| Deputy President |
|---|
| Graham Stoker |
| Brian Gibbons |
| Vice Presidents |
|---|
| Carlos Barbosa |
| Franco Lucchesi |
| Danijel Starman |
| Gus Lagman |
| Ignacio Gonzalez Fausto |
| Victor Dumot Martinez |
| Jorge Rosales |
| Jose Abed |
| Michel Boeri |
| Morrie Chandler |
| Enrico Gelpi |
| Carlos Gracia Fuertes |
| Mohammed Ben Sulayem |
| Surinder Thatthi |
| Committee Members |
|---|
| Peter Meyer |
| Maria Spetz |
| Sebastià Salvadó |
| Lars Österlind |
| Werner Kraus |
| Niklaus Lundsgaard Hansen |
| Guido van Woerkom |
| Thierry Willemarck |
| Mike Harris |
| Geoff Lange |
| Setsuo Tanaka |
| Bernard Tay |
| Robert Darbelnet |
| Earl Jarrett |
| Tim Shearman |
| Iván Dibós |
| Garry Connelly |
| Vassilis Despotopoulos |
| Luis Pinto de Freitas |
| Zrinko Gregurek |
| Wan Heping |
| Victor Kiryanov |
| Hugo Mersan |
| Radovan Novak |
| Vicenzo Spano |
| Teng Lip Tan |
In October 2010, the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy was announced; a new programme to develop young driver talent worldwide.[5] After a three-day shootout in Melk, Austria on 6–8 February, twelve drivers were selected.[6]
In June 1999, the EU commission opened an investigation in to the FIA over anti-competitive behaviour in the protection of FIA sanctioned series. A settlement was reached in June 2001[7]
Martin Brundle wrote a column in the Sunday Times entitled "Witch-hunt threatens to spoil world title race" in which he accused the FIA of a witch-hunt against McLaren. The World Motor Sport Council responded by issuing a writ against the Sunday Times on charges of libel.[8] Brundle hit back saying that "I have earned the right to have an opinion" and suggesting the writ was a "warning sign to other journalists".[9] The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy involved accusations of theft made against McLaren, who was accused of stealing technological secrets from Ferrari.
In 2008, accusations surfaced that FIA President Max Mosley was involved in scandalous sexual behavior. Following a June 2008 decision of the FIA to retain Max Mosley as president, the German branch of the FIA, the ADAC (the largest European motoring body), announced, "We view with regret and incredulity the FIA general assembly's decision in Paris, confirming Max Mosley in office as FIA president." It froze all its activities with the FIA until Max Mosley leaves office.[10] Press reports also claimed that Bernie Ecclestone was investigating creating a rival to the Formula 1 series due to the scandal.
On 24 June 2009, following a dispute between the FIA and the newly-created Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), the parties finally came to an agreement over the future of F1. Part of the agreement was that Max Mosley must step down as FIA President and must not stand for re-election (he stood down in October 2009). A new Concorde Agreement was subsequently signed on 31 July.[11]