The FIA ethics committee, the governing body of motorsport, has cleared its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of alleged interference in two races this week. However, the FIA did not provide much information about the decisions made in each case and chose not to comment further on the matter.
The FIA has also come under scrutiny for its recent investigation into Susie Wolff, who oversees the exclusive F1 Academy support series for women. Toto Wolff’s wife has now taken legal action against the FIA in response to this investigation.
During the F1 team principals’ press conference in Melbourne, held on the first day of the Australian Grand Prix, Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, expressed his concerns about the seriousness of these situations. He emphasized the importance of transparency in today’s world and highlighted the need for all unanswered questions to be addressed. Brown lamented that these issues are still being discussed three races into the calendar.
When asked to comment on Brown’s remarks, the FIA did not respond immediately. This comes after Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes driver, criticized the lack of accountability in sports authorities when asked about Wolff’s legal action.
Furthermore, the start of the new season has been overshadowed by misconduct allegations against Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, made by a staff member. After an independent investigation, Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing and the staff member was suspended. However, it was reported that the woman has appealed the result and filed an official complaint with the FIA. Currently, the governing body has chosen not to comment on these reports.
Although recognizing the importance of confidentiality in internal investigations, Zak Brown emphasized the need for people involved in the sport to have confidence in the FIA procedures. He stated that it is crucial for all parties to be heard and for an independent analysis to be carried out when problems arise.
While Brown did not explicitly state that he had lost confidence in the governance of the FIA, he expressed his concerns. In contrast, other team principals at the press conference offered strong support for the FIA.
Fred Vasseur, team principal of Ferrari, stated that teams have no choice but to trust the FIA’s internal investigations and refrained from giving an opinion on individual cases. The report was provided by Ian Ransom.
