David Richards, the chairman of Motorsport UK, has threatened world governing body the FIA with legal action if it does not address his concerns about governance.
Richards' move comes after he was one of a number of FIA members who were barred from a meeting of its world council last week after refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The 72-year-old said in a letter to members of Motorsport UK, , a member of the FIA, that the FIA's actions under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem are in breach of its own statutes and that its actions fall short of "gold-standard levels of transparency, accountability and integrity in sports governance".
Richards, the chairman of motorsport engineering company Prodrive and a former Formula 1 team boss, added he intends to "remind the FIA of their responsibilities and hold them to account on behalf of the sport and their members worldwide".
Richards' letter references the number of controversies that have embroiled Ben Sulayem since he was elected in December 2021.
These have included his views on women, his approach to F1, changes to the statutes reducing accountability, the dismissal of a number of senior figures and rule changes regarding F1 drivers' public behaviour.
Richards said there has been a "distinct failure" by Ben Sulayem to meet the promises he made when he ran for election.
These included being a hands-off president conducting himself in a non-executive manner and delegating the running of the FIA to a professional team, appointing and empowering a capable CEO, and full transparency of actions.
