MADRID, 17 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
British driver Lewis Hamilton could be sanctioned for skipping the International Automobile Federation (FIA) end-of-season gala, held in Paris this week, as confirmed by the newly elected president of the Formula 1 governing body, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The FIA chief executive said he sympathized with Hamilton, but recalled that all drivers must follow the rules. “If there is any infraction, there is no forgiveness for this,” added Ben Sulayem, who has recently replaced Jean Todt after 12 years in office.
Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff were absent from last Thursday’s gala despite the fact that Article 6.6 of the F1 regulations requires that the three best drivers in the World Championship be present at the celebration. It is unclear what kind of penalties are available to the FIA.
“Forgiveness is always there, but rules are rules,” added Ben Sulayem, who was elected on Friday after receiving just under 62% of the vote in an election in which he was competing with Britain’s Graham Stoker.
In addition, the new president of the FIA wanted to avoid any controversy about the final of the World Championship last Sunday in Abu Dhabi. “We will review the rules and make sure that any such situation that occurs in the future will have an instant solution,” added Ben Sulayem.
“We had a meeting with the drivers and I feel that what happened has already been declared. The FIA made a decision, we discussed it and there was a statement, and now we have to start the new season,” he said.
“We have to be proactive and reactive. I feel like it’s a time when as a pilot I would be so upset for a while, but the weather is a factor that will cool down. After the holidays and Christmas, in the new year we will start all over again.” , concluded Ben Sulayem, 14-time Middle East rally champion and president of the Emirates Motorsports Organization since 2005.