Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, has broken its silence regarding allegations surrounding its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, by admitting a report exists “detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing body”.
According to the BBC, a report by the motorsport governing body’s compliance officer, Paolo Basarri, to the ethics committee claims Ben Sulayem acted to overturn a 10-second penalty given to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The BBC report claims a whistleblower has alleged that Ben Sulayem called the FIA’s vice-president for sport for the Middle East, Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa al-Khalifa, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity. Ben Sulayem allegedly made it clear to Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa that he thought Alonso’s penalty should be revoked.
Ben Sulayem has not responded to requests for comment from the BBC but F1’s regulator did release a statement yesterday. It read: “The FIA confirms that the compliance officer has received a report detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies.
“The compliance department is assessing these concerns, as is common practice in these matters, to ensure that due process is meticulously followed.”
The removal of Alonso’s 10sec penalty, imposed for work done on his car while he was serving a previous 5sec sanction, returned him to the podium behind the Red Bull duo of the race winner Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen in second, after the deduction had dropped him to fourth.
At the time there was no suggestion there was anything untoward with the decision after Aston Martin’s sporting director, Andy Stevenson, had put the team’s case to stewards in a right of review. The Mercedes driver George Russell would have moved up to third place if Alonso’s 10sec penalty had stood.
On Tuesday a further allegation – also published in a BBC report – said Ben Sulayem had told officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its Grand Prix last year. An FIA spokesperson told the BBC: “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.”
The FIA’s response to allegations surrounding Ben Sulayem comes as Christian Horner continues to fight to keep his position as Red Bull team principal following allegations made against him by a female colleague. Horner has always denied the claims.
