This included the running of the Abu Dhabi GP in 2009, organising over 700 staff and volunteers in what F1’s first ever day and night race.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem was the first Arab to be elected to the World Motor Sport Council, serving as FIA vice-president from 2008 onwards.
The first non-European to elected to the role of president, the Emirati has emphasised his focus on training and knowledge transfer – he first got that initiative underway as president of the UAE’s national governing body, chairing the Motor Sport Development Task Force that was set up in 2013, which was created by the FIA to devise a ten-year plan for the sport’s global development.