Mohammed ben Sulayem: The FIA's mission is justice

      FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem disagrees with accusations of bias that sometimes arise against the stewards. Not only ordinary fans but also people from the drivers' circles have voiced criticism; after the race in Zandvoort, a representative of the sponsor Mercado Libre even accused the FIA of "destroying the integrity of Formula 1."

      We wrote about the official FIA response to this statement; during a visit to Argentina, the president of the federation was asked about bias.

      Mohammed ben Sulayem: "Some believe we are biased against Argentinians, others think we are against the British. You know, I will deal with this. I will personally call Colapinto and ask for his opinion. I want to hear what he has to say.

      The mission of the FIA is fairness. We conduct training courses. We have asked national federations to provide us with the names of people we could train, as we want to ensure the rotation of judges at races.

      We condemn any manifestations of bullying on social media. It is directed against drivers, journalists, officials, many of us. About two years ago, I said: if I do nothing about this, our sport will suffer irreparable damage.

      Seventy percent of hostility comes from North and South America, about 18% from Europe.

      I remember that two years ago in Miami we had a problem. One of our staff members dealing with racial discrimination was Spanish. She and her family received death threats, and she sent a letter saying, "That's it, I can't take it anymore." It was then that we created an alliance against online hate.

      Governments, associations, media – we all stand together. And now this movement is gaining momentum. Teams are getting involved. This is a marathon. I cannot do this alone. The FIA cannot do this alone. It is a collective effort."