The International Automobile Federation (FIA) president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is reportedly being scrutinized for potentially influencing the outcome of a Formula One event.
This information comes from a BBC article, which states that the motorsport’s compliance officer, Paolo Basarri, has presented findings to the ethics committee, suggesting Ben Sulayem attempted to reverse a penalty issued to Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin during the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
While the FIA has been approached for comments by the PA news agency, it is believed that the organization will refrain from making statements on the issue.
This reticence is due to the investigation’s handling by the ethics committee, an autonomous entity, implying the FIA will await the completion of any procedural actions before commenting.
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The core of the controversy, as reported by the BBC, lies in allegations from a whistleblower. This individual claims Ben Sulayem contacted Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA vice president for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, who was attending the race in Saudi Arabia. Ben Sulayem is said to have expressed his opinion that Alonso’s penalty ought to be annulled.
The contested penalty involved a ten-second time addition to Alonso’s race, initially levied for receiving car maintenance during an earlier five-second penalty period.
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This penalty had demoted Alonso from a podium position to fourth place.
However, following its revocation—prompted by Aston Martin’s sporting director Andy Stevenson’s appeal to the race stewards, which led to a review—the decision allowed Alonso to reclaim his podium spot behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen.
At the time of the decision, there was no public suspicion of impropriety regarding the penalty’s removal.