FIA presidential hopeful Laura Villars has won an emergency court hearing in Paris next month to have her complaints against the governing body over the election process aired.
Villars was among three candidates - the others being Virginie Philipott and ex-Formula 1 steward Tim Mayer - to announce their intention to stand against Ben Sulayem in the upcoming election.
As The Race revealed earlier this month, quirks of the election rules mean no one other than Ben Sulayem is likely to be able to stand in December's ballot.
All candidates must put together a presidential team (a so-called 'presidential list') of 10 other individuals from around the world, but all these positions cannot now be fulfilled by the prospective presidents.
That's because Fabiana Ecclestone from Brazil is the sole representative eligible from South America, and she has already pledged her support to Ben Sulayem.
That means none of the rival presidential hopefuls have an alternative candidate to choose from as no other clubs in the region put forward eligible candidates.
The deadline for presidential lists to be submitted was October 24.
Mayer conceded his hopes were over in a press conference on the Friday of F1's United States Grand Prix, where he attacked what he called "the illusion of democracy" with only one candidate allowed to stand.
Mayer elected against any legal action, instead choosing to go through official FIA channels to lodge any grievance.
That is in contrast to Villars, who had already suggested she was considering legal action after raising what she called "legitimate concerns" about the process.
She has now decided to pursue legal action after what she called "a lack of concrete answers" from the FIA.
Villars won an emergency court hearing at the Judicial Court of Paris, allowing Villars to summon the FIA before the emergency judge.
"I have twice tried to open a constructive dialogue with the FIA on essential matters such as internal democracy and the transparency of electoral rules," a statement from Villars read.
"The responses received were not up to the challenge. I am not acting against the FIA. I am acting to protect it. Democracy is not a threat to the FIA; it is its strength."
A Paris court hearing has been set for November 10 at 9.30am, with both parties invited to attend.
"I will go to this mediation hearing with the same attitude I have maintained from the beginning - calm, openness, and determination," Villars added.
"I hope it will finally lead to a sincere dialogue in the service of a FIA that is more modern, fair, and connected to its members."
Villars's lawyer Robin Binsard added: "We obtained authorisation to file an emergency summons which shows that the judiciary is taking seriously the serious democratic shortcomings within the FIA, as well as various violations of the statutes and regulations that we are denouncing."
Asked to comment on Villars's legal action by The Race, the FIA said: "Due to the nature of the process, the FIA is unable to comment on this legal action and will not be able to provide further comment on this matter."
But it did issue a statement on the election process.
"The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage," it read.
"The requirements for the 2025 FIA elections, including the relevant deadlines and eligibility criteria for the presidential list and world councils, are defined in the FIA statutes and internal regulations, which are publicly available on the FIA's website.
"Detailed information regarding these elections has also been made available on a dedicated page on the FIA's website since 13 June 2025 and communicated to all FIA members.
"The requirements related to the regional representation of the vice-presidents for sport, and to select them from the World Motor Sport Council in order to draw up a presidential list, are not new. These criteria applied to previous elections."
It is believed the presidential list of each eligible candidate - just Ben Sulayem in this case - will be published shortly.
