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Mohammed Bin Sulayem, the President of the FIA, is on the starting grid in Doha, Qatar, for the Qatar Grand Prix, which is part of the Formula 1 World Championship. The FIA released a statement in response to recent accusations made against Ben Sulayem. A whistleblower claimed that Ben Sulayem was involved in race manipulation during the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Initially, Fernando Alonso received a 10-second time penalty for a violation, but this decision was later overturned after a protest from Aston Martin. However, according to a BBC report, a whistleblower alleged that Ben Sulayem tried to influence the race result. The allegation suggests that the FIA President contacted Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA Vice President for Sport (Middle East) and President of the Bahrain Motorsport Federation, in an attempt to overturn the decision. On Tuesday, new accusations emerged against Ben Sulayem, this time regarding his alleged instructions for officials not to certify the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit for its inaugural race last year. According to a whistleblower, the FIA President instructed them to find a reason to deem the circuit unsafe for racing. The whistleblower claims that the goal was to withhold the license for the race and that issues with the circuit would be artificially identified, regardless of their actual existence. The FIA issued a statement acknowledging the potential accusations and confirming that their Compliance Officer is investigating the matter. The statement emphasizes the importance of following due process in such cases. An additional statement from an FIA spokesperson expresses concern that the matter has been leaked to the media without authorization and that certain aspects of the report have been inaccurately reported. The FIA did not provide further details on the accusations or confirm whether Ben Sulayem is the subject of an ongoing compliance investigation.
