MELBOURNE, Australia — With a dark cloud continuing to linger over Formula One in the form of various controversies, team bosses have urged for great transparency from the FIA.
Motor racing’s governing body has come under fire in recent weeks, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton telling reporters on Thursday that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has “never” had his support.
The president was recently cleared in an internal investigation into a whistleblower allegation, which included race interference at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff has also filed legal action against the federation for its investigation into an allegation of a conflict of interest between her and husband, Toto, who is the boss of the Mercedes F1 team.
The start of F1’s season has been overshadowed by the ongoing controversy surrounding Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who was cleared of misconduct in early March.
The female team employee who accused Horner of inappropriate behaviour has since been suspended.
On those different news stories, McLaren boss Zak Brown said on Friday: “All the items that have come to light here in recent times are very serious situations. I think we’re living in 2024 not 1984, which means total transparency.
“I think the three situations are different but all very serious and I think we need to make sure that things are done in a transparent, truly independent manner. I think everyone should welcome transparency.
“I know everyone would like these various topics to enable us to go back to motor racing, but I think until all the unanswered questions are answered people will continue to ask questions.”
Transparency has become the hottest topic in F1 this year.
Red Bull has been under pressure to release more information into Horner’s case, although the racing team’s hands have been tied somewhat by the fact the investigation was carried out by parent company Red Bull GmbH.
The BBC reported that the suspended female employee has asked the FIA to look into the case.
The FIA has also declined to reveal the reasons why whistleblower allegations against Ben Sulayem were dismissed. The independent case into Ben Sulayem featured interviews with 11 witnesses.
The FIA president had been accused of applying pressure on race stewards to overturn a 10-second penalty at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix which cost Aston Martin’s Fernando…
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