The regulatory body of Formula 1 has absolved its president of allegations suggesting his involvement in race interference during the previous season in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas.
Accusations arose that Mohammed Ben Sulayem intervened to reverse a penalty for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
A whistleblower asserted that the president instructed officials not to approve the Las Vegas circuit for last year’s race. However, the FIA stated that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate these claims.
“Concerns over potential interference were brought to the attention of the FIA Compliance Officer and subsequently passed to the FIA Ethics Committee,” said the FIA in a statement.
“After reviewing the results of the inquiries, the Ethics Committee were unanimous in their determination that there was no evidence to substantiate allegations of interference of any kind involving the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.”
A “robust and wide-ranging independent review” spanning 30 days, and interviewing 11 witnesses was conducted, the FIA added. which cleared Ben Sulayem “of any wrongdoing”.
“The president showed complete co-operation, transparency, and compliance throughout the process during this investigation was greatly appreciated,” it said.