21/03/2024
NEWS STORY
FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem has been cleared following a 30 day investigation into claims made by a former employee of the sport's governing body.
A whistle-blower - now allegedly employed by Formula One Management - had alleged that the FIA president sought to interfere with the penalty handed out to Fernando Alonso by the stewards at last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The whistle-blower also claimed that the Emirati had tried to get approval for the Miami track denied, the Grand Prix being the first officially promoted by the sport.
However, today, following a 30-day investigation by the FIA Compliance Officer and Ethics Committee, it was deemed that there is no evidence that Ben Sulayem acted improperly.
"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," reads the statement released this afternoon.
"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 President's complete co-operation, transparency, and compliance throughout the process during this investigation was greatly appreciated."
In which case, considering the fact that this was a former FIA employee now working with FOM, surely the identity of the accuser should be made public, for, much like the Red Bull saga, there appears to be an agenda.
Previously, speaking to GP Racing, Ben Sulayem insisted that it is totally within his power to deny approval for a circuit.
"The president of the FIA is the one who signs the homologation for the new track, or for all the tracks. I supported it," he said. "I could have said no, but as soon as my team said it was safe... because I'm a driver, I care about the wellbeing of the drivers and the people around them, our staff and the marshals. I did it.
"It was a big thing. If I had said no, it would have been disastrous for F1. But it would have been legal. But I'm careful because I love the sport."