FIA President Faces More Allegations After Las Vegas Grand Prix Certification Block Attempt

Wednesday, 06 March 2024 at 07:30

The president of FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, reportedly told officials not to certify the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Two days ago, on the fourth of March, BBC reported that the president of FIA was under investigation for an alleged attempt to interfere with the Formula 1 race (2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix).

Shortly, Sulayem supposedly called one of the FIA's vice presidents for sports for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was in Saudi Arabia, and told him to overturn their decision to award Fernando Alonso with a 10-second penalty.

On March 5, 2024, BBC revealed that the same whistleblower who accused Sulayem also said he was told "on behest of FIA president" to find a way not to pass the Las Vegas Strip Circuit as safe for racing.

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BBC suggests that it has seen the report from the FIA compliance officer to its ethics committee in which the claims were supposed to have been made. The report evidently read:

"The purpose was to find fault with the track in order to withhold the license. Asked to be more specific, [the whistleblower] said that issues on the circuit were meant to be artificially identified regardless of their actual existence, with the ultimate goal of withholding the license."

Three officials in total were apparently asked to perform this job, but the report says they were: "unable to find any concerns with the circuit and therefore certified the circuit fit for the race."

It is important to note that other officials who were supposed to be in the same room when the task was handed out have no recollection of the events from the whistleblower.

FIA has already issued a statement that came as a response to recent reports about the investigation of Sualyem. In the report, the organization confirms that the report mentioned above is real and is now being examined.

"Compliance Officer has received a report detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies."

"The Compliance Department is assessing these concerns, as is common practice in these matters, to ensure that due process is meticulously followed."