F1 | "At the end of the day, rules are rules,” says new FIA President Sulayem after Hamilton skipped yearly FIA gala
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, new FIA president, will have to look into F1’s sporting regulations to see if Hamilton not attending the gathering is an infraction to the rule. He says there is no forgiveness when breaching rules.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem was just named president of the FIA, after Jean Todt’s term got to an end. Sulayem’s role will be no easy task, as he already has some responsibilities due.
The first one being an investigation as F1 2021 vice-champion Lewis Hamilton, alongside Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, decided to miss the end of the season FIA prize giving gala. Sulayem has got to look into this matter as it appears to be a breach of Formula 1’s Sporting Regulations.
Article 6.6 of the regulations states: "The drivers finishing first, second and third in the Championship must be present at the annual FIA Prize Giving ceremony."
"At the end of the day, rules are rules,” he said during his first official press conference as president.
"So we are going to look into the side of where the technical rules are there to be employed and was he in breach? I have to look into it."
"Of course, we'll have to be following our rules. But in the meanwhile, it doesn't stop us from making a champion feel good about the sport, you know,” he added.
"It's easy to be nice to people. And it is cheap to be nice. And it's also to motivate people. But definitely, if there is any breach, there is no forgiveness in this."
Sulayem declared that it is critical for the FIA to determine if Hamilton broke the rue by not attending, admitting at the same time that the 7-time world champion was “broken” by the events of the Abu Dhabi weekend.
"Forgiveness is always there, but rules are rules. We look at the rules,” Sulayem said when asked if he could really rule out any “forgiveness”.
"And I always say: rules are not made. A human made them...and they can be improved and changed by humans. So the rules are there to be improved.
"I know that Lewis is really sad about what happened and one word I would say is he's broken. But we have to look if there was any breach.
"I cannot [say for now]. It's just a few hours now I've been a president, and I've just started giving answers without going back to the facts."
If Lewis Hamilton is found guilty of breaching the rule it is more likely that he will face a financial penalty than a sporting sanction.
