The president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has been cleared of any wrongdoing after last year's accusations about his participation in Formula 1 races surfaced. A whistleblower's allegations about two events that happened in 2023 prompted the FIA's Compliance Department to launch an inquiry. The initial charge was that Ben Sulayem had a hand in the stewards' decision to reverse Fernando Alonso's punishment during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. During the second incident, which took place during the Grand Prix in Las Vegas, allegations surfaced that he had pushed for the FIA to reject the track certification for Formula 1's newest event venue.
The FIA Compliance Officer and its six-member Ethics Committee carried out a thorough investigation, but on Wednesday it ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove that Sulayem was involved. Eleven people were interviewed as part of the thirty-day inquiry by the FIA.
According to a press release from the FIA, the Committee unanimously decided that the accusations of influence against Mohammed Ben Sulayem did not have any merit after reviewing the investigation's results in detail.
What was the Allegation?
In the race, Fernando Alonso was penalised ten seconds, dropping him from third to fourth place, after finishing in third place in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The stewards handed down the penalty because they saw the rear jack touch the vehicle before the five-second rule had expired during the pitspot. Aston Martin, Alonso's team, successfully challenged the verdict by submitting new evidence more than 30 laps after the penalty was imposed.
Despite much discussion, the Sporting Advisory Committee (SAC) was unable to settle on a clear policy against jacks touching cars, according to Aston Martin of Silverstone. Mercedes, Alpine, Haas, and McLaren were among the teams included in the team's extensive video library of penalised pitstops including jacks touching with cars. The stewards reevaluated Alonso's 10-second penalty and put him back in third position after looking at this information. The FIA came under fire for creating needless uncertainty among teams and spectators by not providing clear rules and interpretation instructions.
Ben Sulayem and Formula 1
Since becoming president at the tail end of 2021, Ben Sulayem has been in the middle of a slew of controversies. Under his presidency, the FIA has been criticised for its ineffectiveness in governing Formula 1. Many well-known people have left the governing body in the last few months.
Furthermore, when Sulayem made certain social media comments on the monetary worth of the championship, Formula One Management—the marketing arm of Formula One—expressed their displeasure with him. Despite Andretti getting approval from the FIA, their F1 aspirations were dashed by the commercial rights holder, who rejected their application on business grounds.
Under the leadership of Ben Sulayem, the FIA began an inquiry into Toto Wolff, head of the Mercedes team, and Susie Wolff, managing director of the F1 Academy, regarding possible conflicts of interest as the previous season came to an end. It didn't take long for the investigation to be dropped after all 10 Formula One teams denied the allegations.
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