FIA members call for legal retaliation in F1 conflict

An array of FIA member clubs and federations is pressing F1's governing body to aggressively respond amidst a clearly intensifying dispute.

Susie Wolff, the spouse of Mercedes chief Toto, recently lodged a criminal complaint in France, following allegations by the contentious FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding conflicts of interest and the sharing of confidential data.

However, just before this, Ben Sulayem was accused of meddling with F1 stewards' decisions and even attempting to obstruct the approval of Liberty Media's new esteemed F1 venue in Las Vegas.

The ethics committee of the FIA has exonerated him from any misconduct.

Now, numerous FIA member clubs and federations from the Americas have thrown their support behind Ben Sulayem in a letter, alleging that the accusations were motivated by "self-interest" and aimed solely at "causing harm."

Included among the signatories is Fabiana Ecclestone, the wife of ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, representing South America for Sports, along with several others, who have collectively called on the FIA to pursue its own legal actions.

"We will recommend that the FIA initiate legal action against those who, without cause, slander the FIA and its leadership," the letter states, signaling a unified stance for a robust legal countermeasure.