FIA PRESIDENT DEFENDS LEADERSHIP

In a letter sent to FIA membership, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the complaints have shaken the FIA” and created a period of unprecedented turbulence and challenge...

The head of Formula 1's governing body has issued a passionate defense of his leadership, claiming a pair of whistleblower complaints against him were meant to “destabilize me as President of the FIA, but also of questioning the integrity of our respected organization.” In a letter sent to FIA membership, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the complaints have “shaken the FIA” and created a “period of unprecedented turbulence and challenge.”

The ethics committee for the FIA earlier this week cleared Ben Sulayem after an investigation it said lasted 30 days and included interviewing 11 witnesses, including the president.

The FIA had said its compliance officer received two complaints against Ben Sulayem. The first alleged he intervened to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso at last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The second, from the same whistleblower, claimed Ben Sulayem told officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its high-profile race last November.

“These events have unfolded with one clear objective: to target the very heart of our leadership and undermine the foundation of our federation,” Ben Sulayem wrote to the FIA members. F1 this weekend is in Australia for the third race of the season.