Americas’ Federations Call for Legal Action Against “Those Who Defame” FIA and Ben Sulayem
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Issued in support of the FIA and its president, the letter is signed by 34 representatives of the bodies from the continent, among them Fabiana Ecclestone, Vice-President of the FIA in South America, Giovanni Guerra, leader of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation [CBA], and Humberto Kennedy, from the Brazilian Automobile Club
The federations and clubs from the Americas associated with the International Automobile Federation [FIA] have issued a joint statement expressing support and reinforcing that Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the highest governing body of motorsport, has been cleared by the FIA Ethics Committee of accusations of interfering in the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP and attempting to block the approval of the Las Vegas circuit. The leaders of the American continent federations went further and also called for legal action against those who “defame the entity” and its president.
The letter, signed by 34 associations from the continent, contains six topics and features, among other leaders, Fabiana Ecclestone, Vice-President of the FIA in South America, Giovanni Guerra, leader of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation [CBA], and Humberto Kennedy, from the Brazilian Automobile Club [ACBr] as representatives of the Brazilian institutions signatories to the statement.
The BBC revealed in early March that Sulayem was being investigated by the FIA Ethics Committee for two incidents. The first incident reported on last year’s Saudi Arabian GP, when Fernando Alonso was penalized 5s for lining up outside the brackets at the start. Upon serving the penalty, he received a new infraction: on the grounds that Aston Martin had touched the car before the penalty was served, the Spaniard received 10s.
Three hours after the race, the second penalty was revoked, which secured Alonso a podium in that race. The BBC published that Ben Sulayem had called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, current Vice-President of Sports for the FIA in the Middle East and North Africa, indicating that the penalty on #14 should be revoked. The broadcaster also reported that the FIA’s compliance report, signed by Paolo Basarri, indicated that a whistleblower reported that the president of the institution “expected the stewards to change the decision”.
The second incident reported by the whistleblower was that Ben Sulayem requested that some way be found for the Las Vegas street circuit not to be approved during the safety inspection, which would shake the main project of Liberty Media for 2023. In the FIA’s compliance report, the whistleblower claimed that a businessman contacted him at the request of the motorsport’s highest governing body president and “instructed him to find some concerns to prevent the FIA from certifying the circuit before the race weekend”. The goal was to find flaws to prevent the license, even if the issues were “artificially identified”.
On March 20, the FIA president was unanimously cleared of the charges. The Ethics Committee argued that it found no sufficient evidence for a conviction.
“The Ethics Committee was unanimous in determining that there was no evidence to substantiate allegations of interference of any kind. Concerns about a possible intervention were brought to the attention of the FIA Compliance Department and transferred to the FIA Ethics Committee under Article 32.2.5 of the Statute. Then, a robust, independent, and comprehensive 30-day review was concluded, which included interviews with 11 witnesses. The allegations about the FIA president were unsubstantiated, and strong evidence was presented to support the determination of the FIA Ethics Committee. The FIA president was cleared of any wrongdoing regarding the following allegations: interference in the stewards’ decision to reverse an additional penalty on car #14, after an appeal from Aston Martin at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP, and attempting to interfere in the track certification process at the 2023 Las Vegas GP. The certification was completed and approved on time. The president’s full cooperation, transparency, and compliance throughout the entire investigation process was highly appreciated,” the organization stated in a communiqué issued at the time.
Check out the full letter signed by the federations of the Americas:
1) That the FIA Ethics Committee, composed of external and independent members, unanimously issued the report, which declares that Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, is acquitted of the unfounded accusations of interference;
2) That the resolution of the Ethics Committee ratifies that the President of the FIA, Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, acted with honor, transparency, and independence;
3) That the accusations of impropriety and unethical practices spread by some members of the print and digital media were aimed solely at causing harm to the FIA and its leadership, especially the President;
4) That the selection of the FIA President is enshrined in the FIA Statutes and is the exclusive competence of its voting members and is not affected by those outside the organization who attempt, for their own interest, to intervene;
5) That we will recommend that the FIA initiate
legal actions against those who, without just cause, defame the FIA and its leadership;
6) We endorse and ratify our vote of confidence in support of Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, for his management of the FIA and for his progress in fulfilling his commitment to transform the FIA in an ethical and transparent manner, in order to better serve its members.
source: Americas’ federations call for legal actions against “those who defame” FIA and Ben Sulayem – Formula 1 News – Grande Prêmio (grandepremio.com.br)
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