The FIA has published a second letter from automobile clubs pledging support for president Mohammed Ben Sulayem following an investigation into his actions by the Ethics Committee.
The allegations against Ben Sulayem, which the Ethics Committee cleared him of, were “targeted in fact against all the FIA, thus against all of us, its members and other stakeholders”, said the letter to him signed by representatives of 13 member clubs in the Central European Zone. They called for a review of the committee so that it cannot be “misused any more by third parties.”
Ben Sulayem was cleared following an investigation into claims he interfered in a stewards decision during the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend and attempted to prevent the certification of Formula 1’s new track in Las Vegas the following November.
“The fact the FIA Ethics Committee rejected unsubstantiated complaints brought against yourself shows solid function of our organisation internal bodies,” said the letter. “We always trusted in your innocence, knowing these are only a purpose made allegations targeted in fact against all the FIA, thus against all of us, its members and other stakeholders.”
However it said the “recent experience” showed the committee’s “procedures, structures and composition should be reviewed so that this legitimate body cannot be misused anymore by third parties against the interests of our organisation.”
“This should be targeted to make the committee even stronger and more independent then now,” it concluded.
The FIA’s Ethics Committee was called upon to investigate allegations relating to two individuals, later identified as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife F1 Academy CEO Susie Wolff, in December last year. That investigation was swiftly dropped after Mercedes’ nine rival F1 teams all issued statements denying they had raised any concerns over a potential conflict of interest involving the pair.
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After the Ethics Committee cleared Ben Sulayem last month, Susie Wolff announced she was beginning legal action against the FIA over the investigation into her.
Last week member clubs representing 27 countries in north and south America declared their support for Ben Sulayem. They said they would “recommend that the FIA initiate legal action against those who, without cause, slander the FIA and its leadership.”
Letter from 13 European member clubs to FIA
Dear President, dear…
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