FIA President cleared of race interference wrongdoings

In the case of the Saudi Arabian and Las Vegas Grands Prix, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been cleared by the FIA Ethics Committee for allegedly interfering with race results.

Earlier this year, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was accused of interfering with the final podium places at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The FIA President was said to have allegedly overturned a five-second penalty intended for Fernando Alonso which ultimately would have seen the Aston Martin driver relegated from the podium, making way for George Russell to take third place.

The second alleged offence came later in the year when a whistleblower reported that Ben Sulayem had told Las Vegas officials not to certify the circuit ahead of one of the most popular sporting events of the year. 

Following a 30-day investigation involving 11 key witness interviews, the independently-run ethics committee, came to the conclusion that there was “no evidence to substantiate allegations of interference”.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem congratulates Fernando Alonso after Qualifying at the Bahrain GP last weekend. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

“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,” the committee said on Wednesday.

“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.”

The Ethics Committee’s work isn’t done, however, with their focus shifting to the complaints made against Christian Horner by a now-suspended Red Bull employee. 

The employee is now appealing against the dismissal of the investigation, with drama following the Red Bull Team Principal all the way to Australia for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Horner will hope for a much more drama-free performance on track this weekend, with the RB20 hitting the circuit for FP1 tomorrow at 12:30 PM.

Don’t forget the latest issue of Auto Action available via subscription here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – the only place you’ll get to read the full story. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.