FIA associations suggest legal action over Ben Sulayem accusations

• Open letter criticises ‘unethical practices’ from the media
• Ben Sulayem was cleared of both allegations

International Automobile Federation (FIA) associations in the Americas have suggested legal action should be taken over the recent accusations surrounding the organisation’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

In an open letter published on the FIA website, the Member Clubs and Sport Federations of America suggest ‘the FIA initiate legal action against those who, without cause, slander the FIA and its leadership’.

This is in reference to allegations that Ben Sulayem attempted to intervene in a post-race penalty handed out to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

A BBC report claimed the president called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa – FIA vice president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity – and made it clear he thought Alonso’s penalty should be revoked.

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The removal of Alonso’s ten-second penalty, imposed for work done on his car while he was serving a previous five-second penalty, returned him to the podium behind Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, after the sanction had dropped him to fourth.

It was also alleged last month that Ben Sulayem tried to convince officials to not certify the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of the debut race last season.

After both allegations were dismissed, the open letter criticises ‘unethical practices propagated by some members of the print and digital media’ which caused harm ‘to the FIA and its leadership, particularly the president’.

The letter concludes with the member clubs’ vote of confidence in the current leadership of Ben Sulayem.

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Despite relinquishing day-to-day control of Formula One in February 2023, Ben Sulayem has managed to continue courting controversy.

This came to a head at the end of last year when it emerged the FIA was investigating F1 Academy chief executive Susie Wolff and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, over a conflict of interest.

Last month, Wolff filed a criminal complaint against the governing body, heightening already fraught tensions between Formula One and the FIA.

This is a much-needed public show of support for a president under pressure, but picking sides will likely only serve to deepen the current divide. Ben Sulayem has become a divisive figure in the world of motorsport and reconciliation with Formula One now only looks possible through a change in leadership.