04 March 2024 at 18:29
President Mohammed Ben Sulayem of the international car federation FIA is being investigated for possibly influencing the outcome of a Formula 1 race. BBC.
Ben Sulayem is said to have interfered with a much-discussed time penalty for Fernando Alonso during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a year ago. A whistleblower is said to have told the FIA that.
Alonso received a ten-second time penalty after the race. That caused a lot of commotion. The Spaniard therefore lost third place, while just before he had received the third place trophy during the podium ceremony.
According to the BBC Ben Sulayem is said to have called the stewards to tell them that he “expects” the ten-second penalty to be “revoked”. This would also be stated in a report drawn up after the conversation with the whistleblower.
Alonso’s time penalty was overturned on the same evening. As a result, the two-time world champion still finished third in Jeddah, behind winner Sergio Pérez and number two Max Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso still regained his third place. Photo: Getty Images
‘Touching car no work’
Alonso initially received the ten-second time penalty because his team Aston Martin had violated the rules during a pit stop. The Spaniard had to pay a five-second time penalty in the pit lane because he was slightly outside his starting box at the start.
While carrying out this, the mechanic touched Alonso’s car with the jack, which is not allowed according to the rules. On closer inspection, the stewards felt that touching a car was not part of work on the car.
Of BBC reports that the FIA ethics committee is considering the case and is expected to take four to six weeks to reach a decision. Ben Sulayem has not yet commented on the matter.
The GP of Saudi Arabia is scheduled for next weekend. Defending champion Max Verstappen started the new Formula 1 season on Saturday with a convincing victory in Bahrain.
2024-03-04 17:29:40
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