Multiple reports in UAE media confirmed that the son of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Saif Muhammad bin Salim has died, unofficial reports claim he was killed in a car crash.
Saif dabbled in motorsport over the years and drove an ATCUAE-backed Tatuus F4 scoring 27 points and finishing 14th in the country's Formula 4 series with a best finish of 2x 7th places. He took a pair of 6th-place finishes in the non-championship test event before the season began.
Current F1 drivers Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri were both in the field and finished second and sixth respectively in the Championship. But Ben Sulayem junior stopped racing at the end of the 2016-2017 UAE racing season.
Like his father, Saif also shared a passion for fast cars as is evident on his Instagram account, which features iconic sportscars, as well as photos of his Ben Sulayem senior's grand collection of supercars.
Sources in Dubai claim that the young Ben Sulayem was involved in a car accident, which resulted in his death on Tuesday. This, however, has yet to be officially confirmed, but today local newspapers did report the passing and mourning schedule as per Islamic traditions.
Emarat Al Youm reported: "On Tuesday, Saif Muhammad bin Salim Al-Falasi, Muhammad Ahmed bin Sulaym, moved to the side of his Lord (has died)"
An Al Khaleej report added: "It is scheduled that the body will be buried after the noon prayer today in Al Qusais cemetery in Dubai, while the condolences will be held in the mourning tent in Al Mamzar."
A further report on MSN confirmed the news.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected FIA President at the end of 2020, succeeding Jean Todt as chief of Formula 1's governing body. The FIA Has been approached for comment.
We at GRANDPRIX247 send our heartfelt condolences to President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Saif's family and friends who mourn the loss of one so young.
Latest News
Loading
