Drivers have reacted positively to the potential appointment of Malcolm Wilson as FIA deputy president for sport.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed the M-Sport managing director as his nomination for the role to replace Robert Reid, who resigned earlier this month. FIA members will vote on the identity of the deputy president at an extraordinary general meeting and conference in Macau in June.
Reflecting on the news of Wilson’s possible appointment into the governance of world motorsport, world champion Thierry Neuville said he was confident Wilson was the man for the job.
“Honestly,” said the Belgian, who drove for M-Sport in 2013, “I respect Malcolm a lot for his business and fighting spirit that he has always shown throughout so many years, because it has never been easy for him and definitely not the recent years.
“After, I think Malcolm’s clever enough to make sure that there’s no conflict of interest and that he will be able to separate business and the well-being of the championship because that’s for me the biggest concern, I would say. But as he’s a clever guy, so it should work.”
Wilson is set to replace Robert Reid as second in command at the FIA, who resigned a fortnight ago
Elfyn Evans drove for Wilson for seven years, scoring his maiden WRC success aboard an M-Sport Fiesta. He knows the Briton as well as anybody.
“There are very few people with the experience that Malcolm has, both as a driver, commercially, team owner,” Evans told DirtFish. “His experience and his ability to put a deal together is without question. I wish him really all the best.”
Fellow former M-Sport driver Ott Tänak added: “Let’s see what the future brings. For sure, we need a bit of support to make sure we have also WRC in the future. I guess some different mindset is much needed. Is it in promotion? Is it from the technical side? I think in every direction we can improve a bit.
“If somebody is eager to do it, then for sure we are definitely supporting it.”
