The FIA has cleared President Mohammed Ben Sulayem of allegations levied against him after independent investigating spanning 30 days.
The last few weeks, reports came through about the FIA investigation its President Sulayem into irregularities relating to couple of races in 2023. The first one was of the results of the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP, especially a penalty.
It came to light that Sulayem insisted on reversal of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso’s penalty which cost him a podium position. It is not clear if it happened due to his say, but the penalty was reversed and the Spaniard did get back on the podium.
The other case was related to the 2023 Las Vegas GP where it was stated that Sulayem asked the FIA officials to not clear the new F1 circuit for the grand prix to take place. The inspection happened very late but the team of the FIA cleared them for the race to happen.
Since those events, the FIA Compliance Department were alerted by whistleblowers about Sulayem’s involvement. As such, an independent investigation took place for about 30 days which included interviews with 11 witnesses and everyone co-operated to it.
Here’s the full statement –
The FIA Compliance Department, supported by external advisors, conducted thorough inquiries over allegations of potential interference in sporting decisions during Formula One events in 2023. After reviewing the results of the inquiries, the Ethics Committee were unanimous in their determination that there was no evidence to substantiate allegations of interference of any kind involving the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Concerns over potential interference were brought to the attention of the FIA Compliance Officer and subsequently passed to the FIA Ethics Committee under Article 32.2.5 of the FIA Statutes. There followed a robust and wide-ranging independent review spanning 30 days, which included interviews with 11 witnesses. Allegations against the FIA President were unsubstantiated and strong evidence beyond any reasonable doubt was presented to support the determination of the FIA Ethics Committee.
The FIA President was cleared of any wrongdoing regarding allegations (i) to have interfered with the Stewards’ decision to reverse an additional penalty on Car 14 following a challenge from the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 and (ii) to have attempted to interfere with the track certification process for the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023. The certification was completed and approved in due time.
The President complete co-operation, transparency, and compliance throughout the process during this investigation was greatly appreciated.
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