Formula One boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem has defended historic sexist remarks on his personal website in which he allegedly said he does “not like women who think they are smarter than men” – and revealed that he was subjected to a racist slur as he campaigned to become FIA president. In a PA news agency interview, the 62-year-old Emirati – elected to the biggest job in motor sport in December 2021 – vehemently denied claims of misogyny and said he had been the target of an “inhuman” smear campaign. Ben Sulayem also compared Lewis Hamilton’s contentious championship defeat in 2021 to England’s 1966 World Cup final win against West Germany, following Sir Geoff Hurst’s controversial ‘offside’ goal, while reiterating his belief that Michael Masi – the man accused of denying Hamilton a record eighth world title – could return to the sport. In January, Ben Sulayem was quoted on an archived version of his old website saying that he does “not like women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth”. At the time, the FIA said the comments, which date back to 2001, “do not reflect the president’s beliefs”. But personally addressing the remarks for the first time, Ben Sulayem told PA: “What did I say, if I said it? Let’s assume it was (me). I tell you exactly what it said. It says: ‘I hate when women think they are smarter than us’. But they hate when men think they are smarter than them. “Did I say we are smarter? No. Did I say they are less smarter? No. For God’s sake, if that is the only thing they have against me, please be my guest, you can do worse than that. “People can go back and see what has been said, and if I have said anything against women. In 117 years of the FIA, I am the only president who brought in a female CEO (Natalie Robyn). “I made the commission for EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), and I brought a woman in (adviser, Tanya Kutsenko). “There is disrespect to women if you say we have to have 30 per cent (female staff). You bring them in on merit and credibility. And that is why they are there. “Look at Bernie Ecclestone’s wife. (Fabiana Ecclestone, Vice-President for Sport in South America). She is one of the most active. They said that I brought her in because of the support from Bernie. But Bernie doesn’t have any connection with any votes. He has no power over them.” Ben Sulayem took the unprecedented decision to relinquish the day-to-day running of F1 in February after he clashed with the sport’s American owners Liberty Media over the introduction of an 11th team and questioned the valuation of the sport. A month later his son, Saif, died in a road traffic accident in Dubai. In April, further allegations emerged after the Daily Telegraph reported that Shaila-Ann Rao – the FIA’s former interim secretary general for motorsport – wrote a letter to the governing body accusing Ben Sulayem of sexist behaviour. “When we opened a position as CEO, Shaila-Ann wanted to be the CEO,” continues Ben Sulayem. “I could not get involved. I said, ‘Shaila, you are good, go through with the process’. We had 150 applications, and everybody went through that process.” Ben Sulayem then reaches for his phone to reveal a WhatsApp message he claims to be from Rao thanking him for hosting her at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this season. He adds: “I don’t want to do any comment. But that is from September. Sexism, please! Do they have anything else? Why don’t they come and confront me?” Ben Sulayem continues: “The attack on me earlier this year was inhuman, with the tragedy that I had. I would love that if I did these things that I was accused of, you sit with me, challenge me and confront me. But don’t fabricate and throw things at me, and then when I tell you to prove it, you run away and don’t come back. That is not the way.” Asked if he was being targeted, the former rally driver, who is midway through a four-year term, replies: “Yes. Because I am doing the right thing. “Imagine in my campaign, in Europe, that someone said to me: ‘Don’t ever think we will accept our president of the FIA to be an Arab Muslim with the name of Mohammed’. “I laughed because I knew how to beat him – by winning. But my Christian team were so upset with him. I said, ‘no, leave it, please, this is something I expect from them’. But can we go back to work? And work for the passion that we love, which is motorsport, and improve it?” Ben Sulayem succeeded Jean Todt five days after Hamilton was sensationally denied a record eighth world title at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Race referee Masi’s failure to imply the correct rules left Hamilton at the mercy of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman took the championship in the desert before quickly racking up another two titles in his all-conquering Red Bull. Hamilton has not won a race since. A subsequent FIA investigation blamed “human error” before Masi was removed from his post. However, the governing body stopped short of a public apology to Hamilton. “I always apologise, but I cannot apologise for something which was done before my time,” said Ben Sulayem. “OK, I will do the apology, but I will bring Michael Masi again. Do you think that is right? “The poor guy is a person who has been attacked and abused. Michael Masi went through hell. Hell! And if I see there is an opportunity that the FIA needs, and Michael Masi is the right person, I will bring him. “I even had people threatening me to kill me because I had the power to change it (the result). But I said to them: ‘Sorry, the World Cup of 1966, England against Germany, was that correct? Did they change it? No.’ Did they give it to Germany? Nein.” Read More How Max Verstappen compares to Formula One greats after record-breaking season Lewis Hamilton cannot wait for season to end after qualifying 11th in Abu Dhabi George Russell fastest as rookies handed chance in first Abu Dhabi practice Class action lawsuit filed over farcical start to Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 fans spark chaos with brawl at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix IndyCar champion admits breaching McLaren contract in £18m lawsuit over F1 seat

Star of the chess world Hikaru Nakamura has hit out at grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik after being accused of cheating. Grandmaster Nakamura recently responded to the cheating allegations against him by going on a crazy winning streak – after his initial good run caused others to speculate about the validity of his record. It comes after Nakamura dismissed “garbage” claims that he had cheated recently after going on a 15-game winning streak and blowing away opponents. Kramnik initially added fuel to the fire by appearing to have accused Nakamura of cheating in a cryptic post after referencing a number of “interesting” statistics behind his incredible form. Now, he’s deleted his initial post, leading to Nakamura slamming him for spreading the accusations. MORE DRAMA - Kramnik Unhinged www.youtube.com Posting a recent YouTube video, Nakamara said: “Someone doesn’t get to say these things without actual proof. They don’t get to falsely accuse people over and over again without having to pay a price. “It’s very disrespectful and to me, it shows that Kramnik simply has no respect for anybody at the end of the day. You don’t get to make false accusations when you are not an expert. You don’t get to make false accusations when you do not have data to back yourself up.” He went on to say: “I’m very proud of my record playing online, very proud of it, and I have nothing to hide.” Nakamura also hit out at Kramnik’s claims that he had set up bots to criticise him in comments sections online. “I would have to have an ego literally 100 times the size of my ego and it would have to be beyond chess to literally pay people, pay bots to come and post comments,” he said. “I think it’s very disrespectful of Kramnik.” Nakamura added: “For Kramnik to basically be insulting all of these mathematicians and statisticians who provided their name and used actual mathematical figures is very, very disrespectful and I think it shows that Kramnik has no respect for anybody at the end of the day. “It’s sad to see, but that’s really where I’m going to leave it for now because there’s just… I don’t see anything good coming from it.” Who knows where the biggest drama in the chess world will take us next… Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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Honesty is the “best policy,” we’re told. Well, apparently not when it comes to job hunting. Sure, fabricating achievements on your CV will inevitably come back to bite you on the backside but there are certain instances where erring from the truth is vital to your success, according to a recruitment influencer. Bonnie Dilber has amassed a loyal following on TikTok thanks to her tips and tricks about securing employment. And yet, her most viral video isn’t about the right template to use for resumés, but a list of the three things that we should all “lie about in every interview”. They are as follows… 1. Negative relationships with colleagues In the clip, Bonnie explains: “If you are leaving your job because you really dislike it because you don't get along with your boss or your colleagues, you're gonna lie about this. “Please do not tell them that your boss doesn't like you. Don't tell them that everyone's really hard to work with. All they're gonna hear when you say that is that you are difficult. “Instead, you're gonna say something like, ‘Things are going great, but I wanna take on bigger challenges’.” 2. Why you really want the job The head hunter acknowledges that “100 per cent of people who want a job want it for the money and benefits”. But, she says, you shouldn’t admit that to your potential future employer – to do so would be a “big red flag”. Instead, she recommends: “You are gonna tell them why you're passionate about the company's mission, why this job is your life's work, and you are just such a good fit for the culture of this company. 3. Your plans for the future “I don't care if you are starting grad school in six months and just need this job as filler. I don't care if this job pays half of what you're used to making and you are gonna jump ship as soon as you find something better. When they ask you about your plans for the next five years, your plans are to be at that company,” Bonnie says. “Your plans are to come in, knock it out of the park in this role, and continue to grow as opportunities arise.” Concluding her advice, the TikToker stressed: “Recruiters are not dumb. We know that if everything was awesome at your current job, you wouldn't be leaving. We know that you are in it for the money and the benefits. We know that you believe if there is better money and better benefits [you’ll go] somewhere else – but those are universal things. “So if you can't differentiate yourself from the crowd, if you can't come up with anything better than those really basic things, if you don't have the critical thinking to know that those aren't going to be very attractive to an employer, then it's gonna be hard for a recruiter to move you forward in their process.” @bonniedilber Companies want to hire top talent that will grow with them over time. Here are three things you're going to want to lie about to present yourself in this way. #interviewtips #jobseekers #jobsearch #interviews #recruiting #careertok Her recommendations have proved divisive among viewers, with a number insisting they find such tactics demoralising. “This corporate Hunger Games is exhausting,” one wrote. “I don’t have a passion. I don’t want a career. I want a job so I can live. That’s all. I don’t wanna play all these games,” admitted another. “What does it say about employers that they want to hire the best liars?” asked a third. While a fourth lamented: “Lying is an executive function skill. Knowing when and how to lie is essential to survive our current hellscape.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings