According to the report, the FIA Ethics Committee, which is based in Paris, should deal with this. The results of the investigation should be expected in four to six weeks.
An informant is said to have explained that the 62-year-old FIA boss from Dubai campaigned for a time penalty against Spanish Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso to be withdrawn at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on March 19 last year should. The penalty was actually annulled, meaning Alonso ultimately retained his third place in the classification.
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The report did not make it clear why Ben Sulayem would have interfered. When asked, neither he nor the FIA commented on the matter. It is also unclear why the investigation became public this week before the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia next Saturday. Several high-ranking employees at Formula 1 and close to the FIA confirmed the information but did not want to comment publicly, the BBC report said.
In addition, the FIA boss is said to be accused of another incident because he allegedly demanded that the world association refuse approval for the new race track in Las Vegas.
This was not about real safety concerns; the reasons for a racing ban could also have been invented. In this case too, it remained unclear what the background for Ben Sulayem’s intervention might have been.
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If the information is correct, there would be a second sideshow in Formula 1. What will happen next at Red Bull is eagerly awaited in Saudi Arabia, where team rounds and the drivers’ press conference are scheduled for Wednesday. Team boss Christian Horner is under a lot of pressure on the world champion team. An employee accused the 50-year-old of inappropriate behavior.
After an independent investigation, the complaint was dismissed by the parent company, but anonymous emails with a link to material in the matter had exacerbated the situation. Jos Verstappen, father of world champion Max Verstappen, more or less openly called for Horner to be removed, who denies the allegations.
