The eve of the Qatar Grand Prix noticed one other twist, with Tim Mayer, the U.S. delegate, dismissed by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Mayer didn’t hesitate to precise his opinion, explaining what has not too long ago gone fallacious on the FIA, the President’s selections, and why he was eliminated.
For every race, a fee of stewards is assigned to behave as an unbiased physique overseeing the occasion. Nonetheless, Tim Mayer defined that Mohammed Ben Sulayem has expressed his views “not on to the stewards, however via his employees.” Mayer additionally revealed that the controversial resolution to penalize drivers for swearing was initiated by the FIA president.
Max Verstappen was punished with group service for uttering inappropriate language in the course of the Singapore GP, whereas Charles Leclerc was fined €10,000, half of which was suspended, for doing the identical in the course of the press convention after the Mexican GP.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s crackdown on swearing
Mayer advised BBC Sport: “His [Ben Sulayem’s] opinion that drivers ought to be penalized for swearing – that’s his view, and what has occurred since displays that. There have been occasions when he has immediately pushed to make his opinions recognized, not on to the stewards however via his employees. A part of the stewards’ job is to implement FIA coverage on the foundations.”
“Technically, utilizing inappropriate language is prohibited. Whether or not it is sensible to go after drivers for a comparatively gentle curse is one other matter.”
“For many drivers, English is their second, third, or fourth language, and for all of the karting youngsters all over the world, it’s the primary phrase they’re taught in English. There are different methods to deal with such issues until the intent is to flex your muscle mass.”
The Fernando Alonso penalty in Saudi Arabia
Mayer’s accusations are significantly severe, following an inside investigation into the end result of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. A whistleblower alleged that Ben Sulayem intervened to overturn a post-race penalty given to Fernando Alonso, who had acquired a ten-second penalty as a result of his mechanics labored on his automotive whereas he was serving an earlier five-second penalty in the course of the race.
In March, a whistleblower acknowledged that Mohammed Ben Sulayem known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, FIA Vice President for Sport within the Center East and North Africa area, who was formally current on the occasion, and urged him to make sure the penalty was overturned. The ten-second punishment was certainly annulled, and Alonso was allowed to maintain his third-place end.
After a overview by its personal fee, the FIA acknowledged there was no proof to help the declare, and Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared by the group’s Ethics Committee. In the meantime, Mayer, who had labored for the Federation for 15 years, stated he discovered of his dismissal on Tuesday by way of a message from one in every of Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s assistants.
Fired by SMS
“The truth that a Federation that depends on volunteers fires somebody who has made important contributions by way of textual content message doesn’t mirror properly on its administration.” Talking in regards to the causes for his dismissal, Mayer stated he believes it was as a result of Ben Sulayem took offense following an attraction by the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) officers after a monitor invasion by followers. Mayer oversaw the U.S. Grand Prix organizers’ overview course of after they have been fined €500,000, with €350,000 suspended, following the end-of-race monitor invasion.
Mayer, in his different position as a sporting organizer, sought to have the official sanction rewritten to take away any implication of negligence by COTA. He was instantly excluded from the stewards’ fee for the São Paulo Grand Prix earlier than being dismissed this week, citing that Mohammed Ben Sulayem seen the attraction as one way or the other “a private assault.”
Mayer acknowledged: “The official reasoning they are going to give is that they believed there was a battle of curiosity with the FIA since I led the overview course of in my position as an organizer. However that isn’t why I used to be fired. Being an organizer is a task I’ve held, to the good thing about the FIA, for over 12 years. It’s nothing new.”
“Although the matter was resolved amicably and peacefully, he stays upset and determined to fireside me. After 15 years of volunteering as a steward, a decade of educating different stewards, and a whole bunch of hours volunteering in different roles, I acquired a message from one in every of his assistants. There was by no means any intent to create an issue with the FIA, and I’ll proceed as a sporting organizer for the three U.S. Grands Prix. It was such a minor subject that it’s baffling somebody may really feel so personally offended.”
At this charge, there might be nobody left
Mayer’s departure comes after Janette Tan was inexplicably faraway from her position as deputy race director for Method 2. The exits of Mayer and Tan add to a rising checklist of resignations amongst senior officers in F1’s governing physique up to now month. Former F1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA compliance chief Paolo Basarri have additionally left their roles, whereas over the previous yr, the Federation has misplaced Sporting Director Tim Nielsen, Technical Director Tim Goss, CEO Natalie Robyn, Girls’s Fee head Deborah Mayer, Mobility Secretary Basic Jacob Bangsgaard, and Communications Director Luke Skipper.
Mayer defined why Tan’s departure is problematic for the FIA, particularly since Marques must oversee not solely F1 but in addition F2 and the F1 Academy this weekend: “She [Tan] embodies the form of particular person we would like working for the FIA, the very best of the subsequent technology of race administrators. I don’t know the circumstances, but it surely’s cheap to suppose they’d go to nice lengths to retain somebody of her caliber. I understand how powerful each jobs are. I like Rui loads, however he’ll be underneath unbelievable stress.”
“There aren’t many platinum-level FIA race administrators, which is the very best stage of FIA certification. I’m one in every of them. It’s a really demanding job. They’re not doing themselves any favors. They’re actually working out of individuals to do these jobs.”
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