The FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has said that the FIA isn’t shy of investigating the reports of Sergio Perez deliberately crashing in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.
After Max Verstappen’s cryptic radio message at the end of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix where he refused to abide by team orders, many sources have made the connection to the incident in Monte Carlo.
Perez’s crash at Portier brought out a Red Flag on the final lap of qualifying, meaning the 32-year-old would start the race in third, ahead of his team-mate Verstappen.
When his race engineer asked Verstappen why he didn’t let Perez through in Brazil, the Dutchman replied: “I told you already last summer, guys. Don’t ask that again to me, okay? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it.”
While the governing body of the sport hasn’t announced its intention of investigating the incident, they would be ‘more than happy’ to oblige if something was worth looking into.
“I didn’t have anyone who said we want to investigate it from our side,” Ben Sulayem told media at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“But if there is something to be investigated, we are more than happy. One thing truly I would say, I’m not shy or afraid of conducting or going into it if there is an issue. I will not hide.
“I will be even raising my hand and saying [if] there is an issue with the FIA. Otherwise, if I cannot do this, you will never improve and never evolve. That I can guarantee.”
Perez went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix the day after, capitalising on a poor Ferrari strategy and keeping Verstappen behind.
In the Drivers’ Thursday Press Conference, the Mexican driver dismissed the rumours as ‘speculation’ and explicitly stated: “That rumour is wrong.”
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