Months after the inauguration of the Las Vegas Grand Prixwhich did not turn out to be as disastrous as it seemed in terms of entertainment, although it began unevenly due to the unfortunate incident of Carlos Sainz with the famous sewer, more details continue to come to light about the making of the third American race on the calendar. Apparently, the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayemtold the commissioners not to certify it, but as has been proven, the proposal did not come to fruition.
That penultimate GP of the world of Formula 1 2023 was dominated by the champion, Max Verstappenbut in the previous weeks it was full of controversy due to the terrible conditions of the workers, in addition to the very high price of tickets, which seriously affected the hotels, which found themselves without the demand of guests they were waiting for due to the short attendance. .
Finally, thanks to several discounts, it was possible to carry out a GP that the FIA supposedly tried to reject. Who denounces this situation, collected by BBC Sportsis the same one who accused Ben Sulayem of possible favorable treatment towards Fernando Alonso for his late podium in Saudi Arabia. In response, un spokesman for the Automobile Federation He expressed that “from a sporting and safety perspective, the approval of the Las Vegas circuit followed the FIA protocol in terms of inspection and certification.”
“If you remember, there was a delay in the availability of the track for inspection due to the local organizer's ongoing construction work,” he added. The report further quoted the complainant as stating that they were contacted by his manager, “who at the behest of the FIA President ordered him to find some concerns to prevent the FIA from certifying the circuit before the race weekend.”
The compliance report alluded to the complainant saying that “the purpose was to find flaws in the track to retain the license” and added that “When asked to be more specific, he said that problems at the circuit had to be artificially identified regardless of their actual existence, with the ultimate goal of retaining the license.”
The FIA and Alonso's podium in Arabia
Alonso came third in that race, which was his 100th podium in F1, but he was penalized after the test with 10 seconds when the team did not correctly comply with a punishment that had been imposed on him during the race. When entering the pits, the Spanish driver had to serve a five-second penalty, punishment for not having positioned himself correctly in the starting box, without any mechanic touching the car.
However, for the FIA the mechanics of Aston Martin They did touch the car before five seconds had passed, which is why they imposed a 10-second penalty on Alonso, who lost the podium, but regained it hours after a long fight over the team's allegations.
And this change of mind by the FIA is what is now being investigated. Ben Sulayem would have intervened to help Alonso regain that podium. At least that's what the same anonymous person says who is now attacking the main federation director for his request that the Las Vegas GP, which this year will host its second edition, not be certified.