Formula 1 drivers George Russell and Fernando Alonso were both asked to give their take on recent allegations made against FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, with he overall feeling being the driving fraternity wants “transparency” over the way the sport is governed.
The FIA confirmed Tuesday via a written statement that its “Compliance Officer has received a report detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies.”
Those allegations were aimed at Ben Sulayem by a whistleblower and according to reports, the FIA President tried to overturn Fernando Alonso’s 10-second penalty during last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and allegedly instructed officials not to certify last year’s Las Vegas GP.
The Spaniard’s penalty was attributed to his pit crew working on his car whilst he served a prior penalty, but it was overturned after Aston Martin successfully launched an appeal aided by video evidence, reinstating the 42-year-old to the podium at the expense of Russell.
“I think we want to see all of the facts and just have total transparency,” Russell, Director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) said during Wednesday’s driver press conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We want a fair and level playing field for us to showcase what we can do. I can’t really comment further.
“We were surprised a year ago when the result got overturned as the legal team at Mercedes thought they did a great job of presenting our case and initially winning the case and then losing it thereafter. So we just want to see transparency and have the opportunity to race on a level, a fair playing field.”
The developments regarding allegations made against Ben Sulayem follow a trend of political off-track during the early stages of the Formula 1 season, such as the investigation Red Bull carried out after allegations were made regarding Christian Horner’s supposed conduct toward a female colleague.
Russell adds that “racing needs to be at the forefront.”
The Mercedes driver said: “It’s a shame when that isn’t the forefront of the media attention.
“But equally, Formula One is at the forefront of technology. I think from an entertainment standpoint we’ve been pushing the boundaries in the last few years and we do need to create an environment that is inclusive for everybody.
“We’re seeing the demographic change over the past couple of years, and it does need to be inclusive.
“So, unfortunately, you need to have these hard conversations and questions.
“You want to see transparency within all of these reports, because ultimately, until we see the facts, we can’t really comment.
Fernando Alonso added that all the political talk off-track reflects the one-sided nature of activity on track, amid Max Verstappen’s rampant form.
There is too much talk off-track because on-track activities are not very exciting at the moment, there is one car winning for the last 72 Grand Prix, more or less dominating three years,” said the Spaniard.
“When this happens in a sport, there is always a lot of activity off-track.”
Regarding Ben Sulayem’s alleged involvement in his Saudi penalty being overturned in 2023, Alonso has faith in the appeal process his team underwent and awaits the outcome of the FIA’s investigation.
“It’s more an FIA investigation that we have to respect and see the outcome.
“We are happy with all the evidence and all the proof that we showed last year, so it was quite a clear resolution for us.
“So let’s see what FIA says on their own investigation, but it’s not really up to us, to Aston Martin.
“It’s very difficult to comment, because every day it seems another rumour going out, and it’s their own matter and their own investigation, we just respect it, follow it, and let’s see the outcome.”
