Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), has been cleared after an investigation into allegations he interfered in two Formula One races last year.
Earlier this month, the FIA revealed it was investigating Ben Sulayem’s conduct after a whistleblower claimed he had interfered in races in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas last season.
It was alleged Ben Sulayem intervened in Jeddah to request a penalty for Fernando Alonso was overturned, while he was also said to have told officials not to certify the Las Vegas street circuit for racing last November.
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The outcome of that probe was made public on Wednesday, with the FIA Ethics Committee saying it had found no evidence of wrongdoing during a “robust and wide-ranging independent review”.
“Concerns over potential interference were brought to the attention of the FIA Compliance Officer and subsequently passed to the FIA Ethics Committee,” an FIA statement read.
“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.
“That the president showed complete cooperation, transparency, and compliance throughout the process during this investigation was greatly appreciated.”
It’s RACE WEEK in the land down under 🇦🇺 🦘#F1 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/2zxgLqAufM
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 18, 2024
Ben Sulayem was elected FIA president in 2021 and his tenure at the helm of F1’s governing body has been defined by a series of controversies.
In 2022, Ben Sulayem was criticised for blocking an agreement between F1 teams and the sport’s commercial rights holders on changes to sprint races, while he was also accused of historic misogynistic remarks.
