The United Arab Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSO) announced on Wednesday the death of Saif Muhammad bin Salim, 29, the son of FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem, as a result of injuries sustained in a traffic accident. in Dubai.
"EMSO expresses its deep condolences to the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the loss of his son Saif Ben Sulayem," says the Emirates Federation in its official accounts.
Saif bin Salim was a driver, as his father (of rallies) had been, although in his case he had run on asphalt circuit events. He came to compete in the Formula 4 of the United Arab Emirates in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, at the end of which campaign he left it. The young man was passionate about high-end and displacement cars, Supercars, as he made clear on his social networks.
The International Federation did not communicate on its official page or on its social accounts any notification of the death, at the express wish of the president, who asked to preserve his privacy. Although some digital media assured that the FIA confirmed the death.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, 61, a former rally driver (between 1982 and 2002), was elected FIA President in December 2021, replacing Jean Todt.
In this year and a half, the Emirati president has carried out a restructuring of the organization. His last move was to step aside in Formula 1, of which he was president of the managing body. Ben Sulayem left the day-to-day management in the hands of the FIA director of single-seaters, Nikolas Tombazis.
