FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem is accused of interfering with the final result of last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The investigation suggests that he intervened to overturn a sanction against Fernando Alonso lifted, which helped him to finish on the podium in the race at the Jeddah Street Circuit.

The same circuit that will host the second Grand Prix of the year in Bahrain next weekend has been implicated in the investigation and allegations of influence peddling, but for the 2023 race.

The BBC says it has seen a report from an official on the FIA's ethics committee. The allegation against the global head of motorsport is that he communicated with Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamas bis Isa Al Jalifa, who is also the FIA's deputy sporting vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa region and who happened to be a steward at the Saudi event, and instructed him that "Alonso's penalty should be overturned".

The 41-year-old Spaniard, who drives for Aston Martin, was given a 10-second penalty for touching his car while his mechanics were serving an earlier 5-second penalty.

The second measure cost Alonso a podium place, having dropped him from third to fourth in the race on 19 March 2023. This second penalty came more than 30 laps after his pit stop. After winning the right to a review by submitting new evidence to support his case, including a video of "seven different instances where cars were touched by the jack while serving a similar penalty... without being penalised", the penalty was overturned.

According to the British broadcaster's article, the report by compliance officer Paolo Basarri states that the whistleblower claimed that "Ben Sulayem ordered the stewards to overturn Alonso's penalty".

If true, this is a clear case of interference and influence peddling on the part of the FIA President, which will be investigated by the Ethics Committee, which is expected to report within four to six weeks. The former United Arab Emirates rally driver took over as FIA president in 2022, succeeding Jean Todt.

The sanction was indeed overturned and, once the second penalty was withdrawn, his third place was restored behind the winner, Mexican Sergio 'Checo' Pérez, and Max Verstappen, both of the Red Bull Racing team. 

The issue has exploded in the week leading up to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which starts on Thursday on the first street circuit of the year, the fastest of the season away from the track.

Saturday will be another race in the most race-packed season in history, as Sunday marks the start of Ramadan in the Arab country, which has also been forced to bring forward the start of the season due to a new F1 rule requiring at least seven days between races.