FIA confirms investigation of whistleblower allegations،
The FIA announced on Tuesday that its compliance officer had received two complaints “detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing body”, apparently referring to whistleblower complaints against the president of Formula 1's governing body.
The BBC reported this week that FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has reportedly intervened to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso during last year's Saudi Grand Prix. A second BBC report says the same whistleblower also claims Ben Sulayem asked authorities not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its high-profile race in November.
A spokesperson for the governing body said the circuit's approval followed FIA protocol, from a sporting and safety perspective, for inspection and certification.
The FIA did not confirm any details of the allegations or even that Ben Sulayem was the target, but it did confirm that the compliance officer had received a report “detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies” and that he evaluated them to ensure that due process was followed. .
“It is regrettable and cause for concern that the matter was leaked to the media without any prior authorization and that some elements of the report were reported inaccurately,” the spokesperson told The Associated Press and Reuters .
The whistleblower is believed to be a former FIA employee who now works for Formula One Management, a person with direct knowledge of the complaints told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the name and other details do not exist. are not disclosed by the FIA.
Formula One Management has held the commercial rights to the championship for 100 years, since 2001, while the FIA is the sanctioning body responsible for rules and safety as well as technical personnel.
The allegations against Ben Sulayem are part of what appears to be a bitter power struggle between the governing body and F1 itself. Ben Sulayem was elected president of the FIA by its members in 2021, just days after the controversial season finale cost Lewis Hamilton a record eighth title and gave Verstappen his first world championship.
Ben Sulayem has been a target since his election. He was accused by F1 rights holder Liberty Media of downplaying the commercial value of F1; he publicly supported Michael Andretti and General Motors' proposal to expand the grid by 10 teams despite F1's refusal to allow Americans entry, and he apparently blocked a deal between the teams and Liberty to double the number of sprint weekends for 2023.
The Las Vegas night race in November was a pillar of Liberty Media-owned Formula 1's efforts to promote the sport in a key U.S. market where it has seen rapid growth.
The BBC said the whistleblower was referring to a manager acting “at the request of the FIA president” and seeking “to prevent the FIA from certifying the circuit before the race weekend”.
According to the whistleblower, “problems at the circuit were supposed to be artificially identified regardless of their actual existence, with the ultimate aim of revoking the license.”
However, authorities found no problems and the circuit was certified.
The allegations contrast with Ben Sulayem's comments at last year's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he said he supported approving the track even though it was not ready in time for inspection.
“As soon as my team said it was safe…I did it. It was a big thing. If I had said no, it would have been disastrous. But it would have been legal,” he said. -he then declared to GP Racing magazine.
“But I'm careful because I love this sport. At the end of the day, we're in the same boat. We may have different missions, but we're in the same boat. We can't let the sport sink .”
The Vegas allegation came a day after the BBC reported that Ben Sulayem, elected in late 2021, was under investigation over a 10-second penalty given to Alonso during the Saudi Grand Prix that had initially moved from third to fourth place. the checkered flag but was toppled a few hours later.
The penalty was handed out after Alonso's Aston Martin team was judged to have carried out work on his car, as he served a separate five-second penalty for being out of position in his grid at the start of the race.
The FIA spokesperson said on Monday that “the matter is being discussed internally.”
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
