FIA hits out at 'inaccurate' reporting of allegations in the Mohammad Ben Sulayem case

The FIA recently labeled allegations made against their president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as 'inaccurate'.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was reportedly being investigated for interfering in an F1 race result in 2023. According to BBC Sport, the whistleblower claimed that Ben Sulayem overturned Fernando Alonso's time penalty at the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, which allowed him to stand on the podium. Another BBC Sport report stated that the same whistleblower claimed that the FIA president instructed the officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit before its debut race in November 2023.

After assessing the situation, F1's governing body issued a statement, claiming the details of the allegations were inaccurate. The statement was given to The Associated Press to report on.

“It is unfortunate and a source of great concern that the matter has been disclosed to the media without any prior authorization and that certain elements of the report were inaccurately reported,” an FIA spokesperson said.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem became FIA president a few days after the controversial 2021 F1 season, during which many questionable decisions were made by former race director Michael Masi. Hence, Ben Sulayem has been under fire ever since the beginning of his term for several happenings.

Amid the Horner-Red Bull saga, the spotlight shifted to Mohammed Ben Sulayem after an investigation began on him for allegedly interfering with race results in 2023.

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FIA president gives his views on Red Bull-Christian Horner investigation controversy

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was concerned about how Red Bull team boss Christian Horner's investigation controversies were negatively affecting F1. Speaking to the Financial Times, he stated how the situation was 'damaging the sport'.

"It’s damaging the sport...This is damaging on a human level. It’s the beginning of the season. F1 is becoming so popular. We just need to enjoy the beginning of the season. Look at the competition. Why do we overshadow it with negativity?” he said.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was recently investigated by the team's parent company after being accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee. Though Horner was cleared of all allegations, the situation kept getting worse when an anonymous email leaked all the conversations between him and the female employee. Mohammed Ben Sulayem reportedly requested Max Verstappen to publicly support Christian Horner amid the investigation saga.