FIA Suffers Departure Of Two Senior Staff Members

The FIA is facing a period of turmoil as two key staff members, Luke Skipper and Jacob Bangsgaard, resign.

Nov 3, 2019; Austin, TX, USA; A view of the FIA Formula One flag before the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Two key figures within the FIA, Luke Skipper, Director of Communications, and Jacob Bangsgaard, Secretary General of Mobility, are leaving the governing body, according to a report from Autosport.

These departures coincide with growing media scrutiny of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem's leadership approach, although they are not thought to be connected. The rising tension within the organization is now mirrored in a pattern of high-profile exits which have raised questions about stability and morale at the top tier of the international motorsport governing body.

Skipper and Bangsgaard's resignations bring their relatively brief but impactful tenures to a close. Skipper's journey with the FIA began in 2022 when he became the first Director of Communications and Public Affairs, bringing extensive experience from Weber Shandwick and the UK Parliament. On the other hand, Bangsgaard, who assumed the role of Secretary General for Mobility in 2023, has a lengthy history in the automotive sector, having founded European Policy Research in 1997 and served in significant roles within the FIA's regional branches.

These departures are not isolated incidents but rather part of a discernible pattern of senior exits that have punctuated the last year. The departures of Skipper and Bangsgaard follow in the footsteps of other notable figures like Steve Nielsen, Tim Goss, and Deborah Mayer, among others. A particularly significant exit was that of Natalie Robyn in May 2023, who left her role as the first CEO of the FIA after a restructuring initiative.

This comes after Sulayem responded to criticism from the media and fans, stating, as previously reported by Sports Illustrated:

"No, we will never get the credit. Impossible. We'll only get rubbish. That I know.

"When you look at it, everybody made money out of the FIA, everyone except the FIA. Everyone gets the credit, except the FIA.

"It's true. When I took over, we had a running operating cost of minus 20 million. Why? Because we have our income as everybody. But look at the promoters… And good on them and I congratulate them, they are smart enough to do that…

"But I'll be very, very honest, as always. So Liberty Media did a great job in transforming Formula 1. If you tell me if I could go back in time, would I undo [that]? No way. I wouldn't undo that, but I would just make sure that the FIA is two equals with them.

"They are a good promoter, they are. If you ask me today: is there anyone who is capable as much as them? I can see that [there isn't]. I support them in what they are doing. The FIA works with them in the best [possible] way.

"But then, the regulations and the governance is the [work of the] FIA.

"And then, let everyone make money. Let the drivers have fun, race in a safe way and make money. And let the team principals make more money, [and] they are.

"But the FIA will never get the credit. Impossible."