AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former Formula 1 race steward Tim Mayer on Friday ended his bid for president of the sport’s governing body, citing ballot rules that he said effectively set up incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem to stand unopposed in the December election.

Mayer, an American who is the son of McLaren team co-founder Teddy Mayer, already faced being left off the FIA ballot when it is finalized next week because he had failed to gain the necessary support of vice presidential candidates from various regions in the world.

“There will be a formal vote, but it will be for only one candidate,” Mayer said at a news conference ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. “This is no longer a democratic process when choice is replaced by control.”

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