The head of the global motorsport governing body is reportedly being investigated for allegedly influencing the outcome of a Formula 1 race, according to the BBC.
Following the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is accused of intervening with race stewards to overturn a penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso.
Although Alonso initially finished third in the race, he received a 10-second penalty for not correctly serving a previous penalty.
During a pit stop, Alonso was required to remain stationary for 5 seconds without any work being done on his car due to a positioning error at the race start.
The stewards found that Alonso\’s team began working on the car before the 5 seconds were up, resulting in a 10-second penalty at the race\’s conclusion.
This penalty initially dropped Alonso to fourth place, depriving him of his 100th podium finish in F1.
However, the penalty was later reversed, and Alonso was reinstated to third place.
A whistleblower, in a report to the FIA ethics committee as reported by BBC Sport, alleged that the FIA president tried to intervene to reverse the penalty and restore Alonso to third place.
It was claimed that Ben Sulayem contacted Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA\’s vice-president for sport in the Middle East and North Africa, who was present at the race in an official capacity and believed Alonso should return to the podium.
ABC Sport has requested comment from the FIA.
Alonso finished fourth in the previous season\’s driver championship, tied in points with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and one point ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren.
If the Saudi Arabia penalty had stood, Alonso would have finished sixth in the championship.
This weekend marks Formula 1\’s return to Saudi Arabia for the second round of the championship.
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