It looks like Mohammed Ben Sulayem can’t catch a break. After Monday's allegation that the FIA president attempted to tamper with the result of an F1 race, it was revealed on Tuesday that the governing body's chief is accused of ordering officials last November not to certify Las Vegas’ street circuit.
According to an FIA whistleblower, Ben Sulayem intervened to have Fernando Alonso’s 10-second penalty rescinded in last year’s Saudi Arabian GP, a move that handed back to the Spaniard his third-place podium in the race.
That allegation has prompted an inquiry by the FIA’s ethics committee. But wait, there’s more!
On Tuesday, a story from the BBC stated that the same whistleblower claims that officials were told "on behest of the FIA president" to find a way not to pass the Las Vegas circuit safe for racing.
This allegation is also in a report filed with the FIA’s ethics committee and which has been seen by the BBC.
“From a sporting and safety perspective, the Las Vegas circuit approval followed FIA protocol in terms of inspection and certification,” commented an FIA spokesperson.
"If you recall, there was a delay in the track being made available for inspection due to ongoing local organiser construction works."
In the report, the whistleblower is quoted as saying they were contacted by their manager, "who on behest of the FIA president instructed him to find some concerns to prevent the FIA from certifying the circuit before the weekend of the race".
The whistleblower contends that "the purpose was to find fault with the track in order to withhold the licence".
The report adds: "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 licence."
An official was assigned to performing this task according to the whistleblower, who named two further officials who were in the room at the time. In its story, the BBC did not reveal the identities of the latter.
The report adds that officials were "unable to find any concerns with the circuit and therefore certified the circuit fit for the race".
The BBC’s story hints at contrasting accounts from other officials present at the time, whose recollections differ from the whistleblower's version of events.
Additionally, the motives behind the alleged attempt to block the Las Vegas circuit remain unclear.
The Las Vegas race held immense significance for Formula 1, with Liberty Media investing an estimated $500 million - $435 million of which were spent on buying the land and building the track and its facilities - to put the flagship event on its rails to bolster F1’s presence in the US and globally.
Relations between Formula 1 and the FIA have been tense in the last two years, with Ben Sulayem eager to assert his power.
The FIA president has also sought to increase Formula 1’s financial contribution to the governing body. The current contract stipulates an annual payment of approximately $40 million from the commercial rights holder to the FIA.
While F1 officials have so far declined to comment on the matter, the emerging details suggest a complex situation with potentially conflicting agendas at play.
Further investigation and the reconciliation of contrasting narratives are crucial to uncovering the truth behind these serious allegations.
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