“Ben Sulayem Has to Go”: FIA President Faces the Heat as F1 Narrowly Escapes Life Threatening Disaster

“F1 is emotion, talent, cars, risk and speed. But when money rules it can be ruthless” – Antonio Giovinazzi. Ever since Liberty Media took over F1, it’s all been about making the sport more entertaining and a show for the audience to watch. The essence of the sport isn’t eliminated but hasn’t been the priority either. Nonetheless, safety is something that hasn’t been compromised. Or at least for the drivers and teams. As F1 narrowly escaped a life-threatening event at the US GP, fans raised their voice against FIA and its president. 

In the modern era of F1, safety is one of the top priorities of the governing body of F1. It was for the safety of the drivers that the maximum number of laps on a set of tires was mandated for the Qatar GP. However, in the very next race, F1 brushed shoulders with what could’ve been a massive disaster. But what exactly happened? What was this disaster all about?

F1 has become more than a sport in recent times. With the value of the sport skyrocketing, F1 has been trying new ways to push the sport to its peak. The incident at the US GP was the result of a miscommunication and a way to make the spectacle better. During the race weekend at COTA, fireworks were set off from the track. However, one of the camera helicopters seemed to be unaware of the fireworks. 

Videos were uploaded to social media where the Helicopter can be heard being struck by the fireworks. The pilot thankfully managed to steer clear of the fireworks without any major damage. This could’ve easily been a huge disaster. As a result of this oversight, a massive outrage has been going on.

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The FIA, its president, and F1 are all being questioned by the fans. Everyone is wondering as to how it happened. Let’s see what the fans are saying. 

“It’s Scandalous”: FIA and Mohammed Ben Sulayem torn to shreds 

Fans took to Twitter (now X) as soon as they saw a video of the helicopter being in the middle of fireworks set off at COTA. There was a massive outrage from the F1 community. Many wondered as to why there wasn’t any investigation done by the F1 and FIA into this matter. After all, it could’ve cost the pilot his life. Many advised as to how safety has taken a back step for F1 and that Mohammed Ben Sulayem should be fired. Let’s see how the fans reacted.

There have been numerous safety incidents in F1 lately. A classic example was the Azerbaijan GP when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine could have hit several journalists & media people in the pits while coming in for his mandatory pit stop on the last lap!

Be it the FIA or F1 itself promoting the “show”; safety getting compromised at any Grand Prix event is not great for the image of the sport.

It is never a great sight for fans on track to see such a chaotic disaster potentially unfolding. Thankfully, the US GP track audience went unscathed amid their enjoyment at the Austin track.

Ocon’s Baku pit incident or COTA’s fireworks, indeed have been narrow escapes. One would wonder when would F1 and the FIA look to eliminate such safety lapses entirely.

Some brought up the plank test controversy that led to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s disqualification as they listed the blunders made by F1 and FIA at the US GP. 

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