Stefano Domenicali hails current relationship between Formula 1 & FIA

The situation has not been like this, especially in Ben Sulayem's early days as FIA President, as Formula One Management (FOM) had their lawyers send a letter after the Emirati issued a statement regarding FOM's valuation of the sport to potential buyers back in 2023 when there were reports that the Saudi Arabian sovereign fund was interested in buying the sport from Liberty Media.

At the time, Ben Sulayem was also pushing for an 11th team—Andretti—with both the FOM and the exiting teams opposing this proposal.

Ben Sulayem is now in his second term as president of the F1 governing body, and it seems the relations with FOM and Domenicali are good.

Domenicali said: "I think what I can say is that the relationship with the president of the FIA, with the FIA, is very strong, very, very strong. And we know that we are complementary to the sport.

"We will never do the role of the FIA, as the FIA will never do the role as of a commercial rights holder and responsible for the promotion of the sport and so on," he explained.

When asked how the relationship with the FIA improved following the aforementioned earlier tensions, Domenicali said: "I think it's a matter of understanding.

"It's a matter of understanding each other better. And as I said, that's a sort of a learning curve that has been taken. You know, you don't need to be confrontational.

"And therefore, I think it's a matter of understanding better and better. And therefore, today, we are in a situation where the line is very clear. The trust is definitely there.

"Therefore, it's good for the sport. I do believe so, at least," the Formula 1 chief concluded. (Source Motorsport.com)