FIA’s top F1 legal players leave organisation

Governance and regulatory director Pierre Ketterer and head of commercial legal affairs Edward Floydd, both of whom had a hand in Concorde Agreement negotiations on behalf of the FIA, are departing.

Ketterer, who will take up a new role at the International Olympic Committee in April, joined the FIA in 2010.

He has long been regarded as one of the key legal players in the organisation, representing it in disciplinary cases both in F1 and across the broader spectrum of the sport as well as in external matters, and he was heavily also involved in compliance issues.

Under former president Jean Todt he led the FIA’s side negotiations for the current Concorde Agreement that runs until 2026, created the FIA judicial and disciplinary rules in 2011, and was a key player in developing the COVID-19 code of conduct that allowed F1 to resume in 2020.

The 45-year-old’s departure was formally confirmed to teams at Monday’s meeting of the F1 Commission in London.

“I will miss Pierre personally and professionally,” FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told Motorsport.com. “I have known him for 14 years – long before I became FIA president. I have always found him to be meticulous in his commitment to serving the Federation and our members.

“He was a prominent, well-respected figure in our organisation. I would like to thank him for his invaluable contribution and unwavering professionalism. I am confident that with the team Pierre has put in place, the FIA’s governance and regulatory affairs are in good hands.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President

Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images

“He has decided to take his career in a new direction after years of loyal service, and I wish him well in his new role.”

“I’m passionate about sports and joining the IOC is a kind of dream,” Ketterer told Motorsport.com. “I spent 14 years at the FIA and I wanted to seek new challenges in another sports organisation, I really wanted to stay in sport.

“It’s a bittersweet moment for me as I’m very sad leaving motor sport and leaving colleagues and friends. I have a very important relationship with the President, I know it’s hard to gain his trust, and we’ve had a great time for the last two years.”

Floydd was the primary civil and commercial legal adviser to the FIA and was the lead legal negotiator and adviser for championship promoter agreements, and as such also involved in Concorde discussions.

Ketterer and Floydd join a growing number of people who have left the FIA in recent months for unrelated reasons, a list that notably includes former F1 sporting director Steve Nielsen and technical director Tim Goss.

Goss was recently named by the RB team as its future chief technical officer, where he will join another recent FIA departee in former Formula E technical manager Alessandra Ciliberti, who has become the design process manager at the Faenza team.

Deborah Mayer, who was president of the Women in Motorsport Commission, opted not to renew her contract at the end of last year.

Tim Goss is among those to have recently left the FIA

Photo by: Sutton Images

Several other less high-profile F1 staff members have also left, but the FIA has also been hiring as it undergoes a restructuring exercise under Ben Sulayem.

As part of that process, it has created a new job title of chief legal officer and recently appointed Paul O’Dowd, who was previously group general counsel at McLaren Applied, the company that makes use of the sister team’s F1 technology in other fields.

“The FIA has been undergoing a large-scale transformation over the past 12 months,” a spokesperson told Motorsport.com. 

“We have created 10 new departments restructuring the Federation to be more fit for purpose for the future.

“While there are individuals departing for other opportunities we have also welcomed new additions such as three new hires to the management team over the last few months, namely chief legal officer, chief commercial officer and senior director for sustainability and EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion.] We have also added numerous staff to key roles across sport and mobility.”