The president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA)), Mohammed Ben Sulayemis being investigated for alleged interference in the outcome of a race Formula 1supposedly by removing a 10-second penalty from the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) during the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, a penalty that would have left him without a podium.
According to the BBC, the FIA’s compliance officer, Paolo Basarri, sent a report to the Ethics Committee in which he stated that Ben Sulayem acted to annul a penalty imposed on the Asturian pilot in the Saudi event.
Besides, The British public broadcaster indicates that a source revealed that Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al KhalifaFIA vice president of sport for the Middle East and North Africa region and who was in Saudi Arabia to watch the race, and asked him to lift Alonso’s sanction.
The elimination of the 10-second penalty for the two-time world championimposed after one of the mechanics touched the car with the jack during a stop when Alonso was serving a previous five-second penalty – for placing his car outside the starting box on the grid -, returned him to the podium behind the Red Bull duo formed by the Mexican Sergio Pérez and the Dutch Max Verstappen. The sanction would have dropped him to fourth position.
There was no suggestion at the time that there was anything inappropriate about the decision, after Aston Martin sporting director Andy Stevenson raised allegations in the team’s case with stewards.
2024-03-05 08:37:07
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