Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, is at the centre of an investigation after allegedly interfering with the result at the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in Jeddah
The FIA has confirmed it is investigating allegations against its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
There are claims that the FIA president tampered with the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in Jeddah. According to a whistleblower, Ben Sulayem is said to have intervened to reverse a contentious penalty that was issued to Fernando Alonso during the previous year’s Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Last year, he supposedly instructed officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its race. According to the whistleblower, they were directed by the FIA president to figure out a way to deem the circuit unsafe for racing.
The FIA has verified that the Compliance Officer has been given a report containing possible accusations against specific members of its governing bodies. The FIA stated that the Compliance Department is examining these concerns, following standard procedure in these cases, to ensure that proper protocol is closely adhered to.
An FIA spokesperson previously told the BBC of the Las Vegas allegations: “From a sporting and safety perspective, the Las Vegas circuit approval followed FIA protocol in terms of inspection and certification. If you recall, there was a delay in the track being made available for inspection due to ongoing local organiser construction works.”
Ben Sulayem, a 62-year-old former Emirati rally driver, has been top boss of Formula 1’s governing body since 2022. He has been accused of acting to get Alonso’s penalty dropped in last year’s race in Jeddah.
The penalty had seen Alonso drop from third place to fourth. Withdrawing it returned him to a podium position at the expense of Mercedes’ George Russell five hours later.
The claim is contained in a report by an FIA compliance officer to its ethics committee and alleges that Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamas bin Isa Al Khalifa – an FIA vice-president who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity – to ask that Alonso’s penalty be revoked.
Alonso, the driver of the Aston Martin, was given a 10-second penalty for making adjustments to his car during a previous five-second penalty. It was determined that Aston Martin had violated the regulations.
Ben Sulayem is currently being investigated for reportedly attempting to prevent the Las Vegas Grand Prix from taking place.
A report submitted by the FIA’s compliance officer to its ethics committee contains an account from a whistleblower.
The whistleblower claims they were directed by their manager, acting on behalf of the FIA president, to identify issues in order to delay the certification of the circuit before the race weekend.
The ethics committee is anticipated to release its report on the allegations within four to six weeks. Ben Sulayem has not yet provided any comments on the allegations. .
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