Mohammed ben Sulayem hanging onto position after FIA president brought up potential conflict of interest between Toto and Susie Wolff

Mohammed ben Sulayem was on Friday night hanging on to his position as the most powerful man in world motorsport.

Lewis Hamilton criticised the president of Formula One's ruling body, the FIA, ahead of the end-of-season gala dinner in Baku, Azerbaijan, calling his actions this week 'unacceptable' for bringing up a potential conflict of interest between his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and wife Susie, managing director of the F1-owned female-only F1 Academy.

The voice of a seven-time world champion is indeed significant. But the greater bother for Ben Sulayem, an Emirati former rally driver, went way beyond that to the heart of the incestuous FIA, a world-wide organisation comprised of member federations that exclusively elect their own president.

One of the most significant figures in the sport, close to the scene, told Mail Sport, relating to Ben Sulayem's position: 'Anything could happen now.' He added: 'This situation is not going away. It's disgraceful the way Susie has been treated and she has everyone's support.

'We all know who it was who promoted this story (a possible reference to a Ben Sulayem adviser who is said to have planted it, or the Business F1 magazine that broke it).

'Mohammed needs to deal with it or suffer the consequences.' 

This month's Business F1 was clearly told that team principals were concerned that Wolff was gleaning information from Susie. The FIA put the matter before their compliance department on Tuesday night.

A day later, all nine non-Mercedes teams denied they had officially brought up a conflict of interest. This cut the ground from under the feet of Ben Sulayem, who has previously said, in remarks on a website many years ago, that he didn't like women who thought they were smarter than men.

By then, Susie Wolff, in a statement issued on Tuesday, accused an unnamed individual - perceived to be Ben Sulayem - of misogyny.

Just 48 hours later, in the most embarrassing U-turn in FIA history, they called off their inquiry.

On Friday, Toto Wolff threatened legal action against the governing body, saying: 'We are currently in active legal exchange with the FIA.

'We await full transparency about what took place and why, and have expressly reserved all legal rights. We will certainly address the matter in due course.' Ben Sulayem was absent from the gala dinner press conference yesterday. The FIA said he had 'suffered a fall and concussion', but that he will 'make a full recovery'.

The 62-year-old was elected in December 2021 for a four-year term. The means of his removal, if that is what the members want, are complex, and he may serve from now on as a president denuded of his full powers.

His deputy, Robert Reid, himself a world championship-winning rally co-driver, waits in the wings as a potential successor.