top of page

FIA president accused of interfering with officiating during 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Mar 4, 2024

Did FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem make a request to rescind a penalty against Fernando Alonso during a race in 2023?

According to a whistleblower complaint, Ben Sulayem requested that stewards overturn a 10-second penalty that was given to Alonso during last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Alonso had been penalized 10 seconds because a pit crew member had touched his car with a jack while he served a five-second penalty.

Per F1 rules, teams cannot work on the cars while a penalty is being served. The 10-second penalty was called because the jack touched the car, though it was ultimately overturned as the FIA said its definition of what constituted working on the car was too vague.

Source: Yahoo Sports

bottom of page