FIA says 'due process followed' in employee exit after sexism allegations against president

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected president of the FIA in December 2021

The FIA says "due process was followed" in the departure of a former employee after sexism allegations emerged against its president.

Shaila-Ann Rao wrote a letter accusing president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of sexist behaviour before her departure last December, the Telegraph reported.

Rao was the FIA's former interim secretary general for motorsport, who left after just six months in the role.

An FIA spokesperson said Rao left following an "amicable discussion".

BBC Sport has been told by a senior source that the letter does exist.

Any investigation into whether the president of motorsport's governing body has been guilty of a breach of its code of ethics has to be reviewed by the organisation's Senate, according to the FIA's statutes.

Responding to a series of questions from BBC Sport about the specific allegations and Ben Sulayem's wider behaviour arising from the report, the FIA said in a statement: "Due process was followed, with an amicable negotiation conducted by the president of the senate and, as such, no referrals were made to the ethics committee.

"As previously stated, both parties agreed she would leave her position in November 2022 and mutual privacy terms were agreed, as is common business practice."

Referring to wider allegations of bullying and abusive behaviour by Ben Sulayem, the statement said: "There have been no complaints received against the president."

The statement added: "The FIA takes allegations of abuse very seriously and addresses all complaints using robust and clear procedures.

"As part of this, the FIA has an anti-harassment policy, an anonymous whistleblowing facility and an investigation procedure and all staff are made aware of these through an induction and regular training."

The allegations reported about Rao are the latest in a series of controversies to embroil Ben Sulayem since he became FIA president in December 2021.

His first full year in office saw him anger teams and commercial rights holder F1 with his approach to a series of regulatory issues, including blocking for six months a plan to raise the number of 'sprint' events for 2023, and a ban on drivers wearing jewellery which many saw as a targeted attack on Lewis Hamilton.

Over the winter, his comments on the value of F1 following a report about a potential sale of the sport led to him receiving a 'cease and desist' letter from F1's lawyers, emphasising that he had no power to intervene in commercial issues and threatening legal action.

He was also forced to back-track on a new rule that prevented drivers from speaking out on sensitive issues.

And there was widespread outrage in the sport when historic sexist comments emerged from an old website in which Ben Sulayem said he did "not like women who think they are smarter than men… for they are not in truth".

The FIA said at that time that the remarks did not reflect his current beliefs.

In the wake of the controversies, Ben Sulayem announced that he was stepping back from day-to-day involvement in F1, and set up a new management structure to oversee the FIA's blue-riband category.

Ben Sulayem has appointed the FIA's first chief executive officer, Natalie Robyn, a former automotive industry executive, and its first equality, diversity and inclusion advisor, Ukrainian Tanya Kutsenko.

The FIA statement added: "As part of the restructuring of the FIA that was initiated by the President and under the leadership of our new CEO, we are actively reviewing the entirety of the FIA organisation with a deliberate and sustained effort to create an excellent culture that fosters collaboration, empowerment, and purpose among our employees.

"Should the FIA ethics committee or compliance officer receive any complaint from a member of staff it will be dealt with in a comprehensive manner by our panel of independent elected ethics committee members which has been in place since 2012."