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There is no peace in the world of Formula 1. As the storm surrounding Red Bull team principal Kris Horner shows no signs of abating, a new issue threatens to undermine the sport's credibility. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is reportedly under investigation for trying to influence the outcome of a race last season.
The BBC has been given access to a report drawn up by the Federation's compliance manager to the ethics committee, which talks about an intervention by Ben Sulayem to revoke a 10-second penalty imposed on Fernando Alonso at the Saudi Arabian race. on March 19, 2023.
The report cites an anonymous source as saying that Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA's vice president for sport in the Middle East and North Africa region. The latter was in Saudi Arabia for the race as an official, informing him that, according to him, the sentence should be revoked. According to the BBC, it will take 4 to 6 weeks for the ethics commission to draw up a report on the case.
What happened in that race:
Alonso had received an initial penalty of 5 seconds for placing his car partially outside the starting area at the start of the race. The Spaniard had cleared the penalty at the first pit stop, but then suffered a second penalty (this time 10 seconds) because the mechanics had touched the car at the rear with a work tool during those 5 seconds.
Article 54.4-ci of the Sports Regulations states: "While a car is stopped in the lane due to a sanction according to articles 54.3-a or 54.3-b, it cannot be subjected to interventions, until the car has remained stationary for the entire duration of the sanction".
At the end of the race, the second sanction was actually revoked (at Ben Sulayem's alleged request) because there was not enough clarity in the rules as to whether simply touching the car was an offence. After this incident, another sentence was added to the regulation: "In this context, touching the car, or the pilot, or tools, or equipment with your hands constitutes work."
Thanks to the revocation, Alonso confirmed the third place he had won at the track, but would move to fourth, opening the Mercedes wing of George Russell.
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