FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has recently been the talk of the town. The president was previously under fire for allegedly interloping in a race result. As a result, Ben Sulayem is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. However, similar reports have once again emerged with a shocking claim about the 62-year-old.
According to BBC, Ben Sulayem allegedly tried to withhold the license for the inaugural Las Vegas GP. The highly-anticipated F1 weekend in Sin City was planned with a lot of glamor. Additionally, the race garnered a lot of monetary benefits for the sport and also propelled F1’s popularity. Hence, there wasn’t any liable reason behind trying to cancel the Las Vegas GP for the FIA President as F1 had predicted the event to be a success from the beginning.
Additionally, The informant mentioned that the FIA President allegedly tried to find faults and mistakes in the track to debar the license for Las Vegas GP. The Grand Prix weekend was according to FIA’s protocol and was accepted initially. However, Ben Sulayem allegedly tried to generate artificial issues on the track to somehow cancel the license for the race.
From a sporting and safety perspective, the Las Vegas circuit approval followed FIA protocol in terms of inspection and certification. If you recall, there was a delay in the track being made available for inspection due to ongoing local organiser construction works. Issues on the circuit were meant to be artificially identified regardless of their actual existence, with the ultimate goal of withholding the licence. An informant told BBC.com.
Mohammad Ben Sulayem’s alleged attempt to cancel the Las Vegas GP failed
Despite Sulayem’s attempt to withhold the license for Las Vegas GP, the race took place and was a grand success. However, The inaugural Las Vegas GP had its share of problems down the race weekend. The first practice session saw Carlos Sainz‘s crash with the open manhole cover and the subsequent session was delayed. However, regardless of the issues, the race provided great racing action.
Ben Sulayem’s alleged actions regarding the previous season in Formula 1 has been surfacing a lot lately. However, an independent investigation by the Ethics Committee has been set up and they are working on the matter. The results will take up to four to six weeks to deliver the result. Hence, until then the season will continue as intended without any stoppages in between.
Additionally, neither FIA nor Ben Sulayem has shared any information about the entire matter with the public. FIA might be working behind the curtains over the status quo and reveal the information only after the issue is solved. The Emirati’s career might be in grave danger if he were to be guilty of the allegations against him. Hence, time will tell about the entire result of the status quo.
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