'Ben Sulayem investigated after allegedly interfering in GP result'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
An internal investigation into Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA president, is under way, the BBC reports. He allegedly interfered with a Fernando Alonso time penalty in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix a year ago.
Alonso received a five-second penalty in Jeddah. While redeeming the penalty, a jack touched the Aston Martin, after which the stewards found that the penalty had not been served correctly. The Spaniard was given another penalty. That cost him a podium spot. George Russell was classified third. His team decided to appeal and was vindicated: Alonso was still third.
'FIA received tip-off from whistleblower'
A whistleblower has now come forward to the FIA, saying that the reversal of the penalty was made after the FIA president intervened. The BBC reports that the FIA's compliance officer has made a report on the matter, which is being considered by the motorsport federation's ethics committee. More is expected in four to six weeks.
Ben Sulayem has been the president of the FIA since the end of 2021. Since then, he has been discredited a number of times. Ben Sulayem also opened bidding for new entrants to the sport against the wishes of F1 teams. Andretti Cadillac was granted a licence by the FIA, but Formula 1 stopped the Americans' entry (for now).