FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem under investigation as 2024 F1 silly season continues

An investigation has been launched against FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem for allegedly interfering with the race results, overturning Fernando Alonso's penalty during the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP.

During the race last season, the Aston Martin driver was to serve a five-second time penalty during a pit stop. While his team did serve the penalty, the race stewards noticed that the crew did work on the car before the complete penalty was served. Owing to this, Fernando Alonso was given a 10-second time penalty, which dropped him in P4 behind Mercedes' George Russell.

According to a whistleblower, Mohammed Ben Sulayem had made it clear over a call that the Spaniard's penalty should be revoked. Within a couple of hours after the end of the race, the penalty was withdrawn and Alonso's P3 position was replaced.

With this report, it is apparent that Mohammed Ben Sulayem allegedly interfered with the final race result after the race. With an investigation launched against him in this matter, a verdict is expected within four to six weeks.

At the time of the incident in 2023, there was quite some criticism. Many on social media had called out the FIA for not making changes in the race result after the end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, where Lewis Hamilton lost the chance at his eighth world championship. It was deemed that the decision made by former race director Michael Masi was not right (which led to Hamilton's loss) and hence he was sacked from the position.

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Mohammed Ben Sulayem feels Red Bull situation is 'damaging' the sport

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was accused of 'controlling and inappropriate' behavior by one of his employees earlier in February. After the end of a long internal investigation, he was cleared of all the accusations.

However, within some time of the conclusion of the investigation, screenshots of alleged chats between Horner and the employee were leaked through mail. The chats were reportedly sexually suggestive, and it has brought up the team principal in question again.

Reacting to the entire episode, Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated that it is causing 'damage' to the sport at a 'human level.' He said, speaking to Financial Times:

“It’s damaging the sport. This is damaging on a human level. It is vital to protect our sport from all of this. It is 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?”

Despite the turmoil, Red Bull's presence on the track has been immense. Max Verstappen won the season-opening Bahrain GP with Sergio Perez finishing right behind him, scoring the maximum points for the team.