FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has safely had one of the most difficult opening years in the role, after becoming the head of the governing body prior to the 2021 season finale.
Since taking over from Jean Todt at the end of last year, Ben Sulayem has had to deal with the “manipulated” 2021 season finale, the enforcement of the no jewellery and fireproof underwear rules, and most recently, Cashgate.
All of the issues couldn’t be more different to one another, with the only similarity being that Mercedes, Red Bull, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are at the centre of most of them.
The punishment for Red Bull’s ‘minor’ breach of the 2021 budget cap is still being decided, with the president likely to have a further issue should the penalty not be up to the paddock’s standards.
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Many have called for Red Bull to be heavily punished, with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown having even written to the president himself declaring that the Austrians cheated.
Brown didn’t mention Red Bull by name, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out who the letter was aimed at.
Considering everything Ben Sulayem has had to deal with, the president has probably been unable to settle into his role as easily as his predecessors did.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has actually praised the president for the job he’s done so for, after having a “christening of fire”.
“Last season ended with a big controversy at the start of his reign,” said Wolff.
“Then what we have seen from that moment on was a firm stance on various regulations and I think that is important.
“He has had a christening of fire with Abu Dhabi and I think you can’t object to him that he is not enforcing the regulations, for trivial things and for the important ones.”
With Red Bull’s budget cap breach now being the main headline, the 2021 season finale has incredibly resurfaced once again.
Last year’s championship will most likely be in the news still by the time 2030 comes around, with an increasing number of fans and paddock members unhappy that Max Verstappen claimed the 2021 title whilst his side broke the cap.
A points deduction is actually a potential punishment the FIA could award; however, a fine is the more likely outcome.
Given that it is possible, though, there is a chance Verstappen could be stripped of last season’s title, with it instead being awarded to Hamilton after all.
You’d think Wolff would be all for stripping the Dutchman of the crown, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.
The Austrian thinks it would be bad for the sport to change the results from last season, with the world needing to “move on” from arguably the most controversial season finale in the history of the sport.
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“When these things happened, there were voices that it would go away and let the season start, but it was just so controversial that it is still around,” added Wolff.
“Is it good for the sport? I don’t think so. I think we need to move on.
“There is nothing we can do about it anymore and this is what we have done because you can’t eat yourself up every day.”