FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has responded to the criticism after the Dutch GP. During the last race in the Dutch dunes, several penalties were imposed by the stewards, which led to a lot of comments after the race. The FIA had already issued a statement defending the stewards on duty, but now the president himself responds: ‘Honesty is the mission of the FIA’.
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During the last Dutch GP, several significant penalties were handed out. Due to the early crash of home hero Max Verstappen, considerable chaos arose on the track. In that turmoil, some drivers, including Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad, committed an infraction. The two overtook under a yellow flag and received a drive-through penalty as a serious reprimand.
Colapinto and Lindblad themselves stated after the race that they disagreed with the penalty. The main sponsor of the Argentine even lashed out at the FIA. The governing body felt compelled to issue a statement defending its stewards. During the FIA American Congress in Buenos Aires, President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was asked about the situation.
‘They also think the FIA is against the Brits’
The president explained how the FIA is working on a training program for stewards. “We ask motorsport authorities from all countries to send us names of stewards we can train because we are going to rotate them,” Ben Sulayem confirmed. Regarding the criticism of the stewards, the top official was also clear. “I will look into it because I have also heard others say that the stewards are against a certain group. The same happens to me.”
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“They think the FIA is against the Brits, but we are not against them,” he continued. “But sometimes it is also good to go to the stewards and say: always be honest. They may be strict, but they must be honest. Honesty is the mission of the FIA.” Ben Sulayem also plans to have a conversation with Colapinto.
Meanwhile, the FIA’s fight against online abuse continues. “The abuse is directed at drivers, journalists, officials, and many of us. About two years ago, I said that our sport would be irreparable if I did nothing about it. In Miami, two years ago, we also had a problem. One of our stewards, a woman from Spain, was threatened. That’s when we started the initiative against online abuse. Now we continue. The teams support us, but this is a marathon. The FIA cannot do it alone; we must work together.”
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