Formula 1 and the FIA have faced multiple controversies in the past few weeks. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was accused of trying to interfere with an F1 race result and even attempting to withhold Las Vegas GP certification. The 62-year-old was cleared of all allegations by the FIA Ethics committee. Now, Ben Sulayem has addressed the situation in a letter sent to the FIA membership.
The FIA President claimed that the recent events which unfolded had a simple clear objective, to target the heart of the sports governing body and undermine its foundation. Although, Mohammed Ben Sulayem did not explicitly mention the allegations.
These events have unfolded with one clear objective: to target the very heart of our leadership and undermine the foundation of our federation. Mohammed Ben Sulayem wrote in the letter, as reported by Associated Press
The 62-year-old asserted that the sports governing body had fallen victim to leaks of confidential and sensitive information. Ben Sulayem admitted that these instances had tarnished the reputation and credibility of the organization. Previously FIA had claimed that there was inaccurate reporting regarding the claims.
[FIA] has fallen victim to malicious leaks of confidential and sensitive information, tarnishing our reputation and causing concern among our members. Ben Sulayem continued
Nevertheless, Mohammed Ben Sulayem affirmed that the FIA emerged stronger than ever despite the attacks against his character. The Emirati claimed that it was known that the ultimate of the ‘reprehensible acts’ was to target him and weaken the essence of the sports governing body.
Despite these attacks aimed at my character and our organization as a whole, we have emerged stronger... We know that the ultimate goal of these reprehensible acts was to target me and to weaken the very essence of the FIA. Mohammed Ben Sulayem asserted
Mohammed Ben Sulayem committed to transparency amidst Susie Wolff’s criminal complaint
The sports governing body has faced backlash from fans and critics over a lack of transparency. F1 Managing Director Susie Wolff filed a legal complaint against the FIA in the French Courts. Wolff demanded answers for the details of the conflict of investigation saga from last year. Moreover, even Lewis Hamilton had slammed the FIA over a lack of transparency recently.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed that he remained committed to transparency and accountability. The FIA President affirmed that the FIA was an environment with unwavering integrity in his letter. However, the 62-year-old did not pinpoint to any one case in particular.
[I] am committed an environment of transparency, accountability and unwavering integrity within the FIA. Mohammed Ben Sulayem concluded
Certainly, Mohammed Ben Sulayem remains adamant on having done nothing wrong amidst the recent allegations. The 62-year-old has reaffirmed his position after being cleared by the Ethics Committee. However, there is a long way to go for the FIA President before the criticism surrounding a lack of transparency can be put to an end.
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