Ben Sulayem Caught in a Lie With “Fall and Concussion” Narrative Amid Heated F1-FIA Warfare

The FIA landed themselves in hot waters after one of their spokespersons shared a piece of information on Mohammed Ben Sulayem. According to the spokesperson, the FIA chief “took ill” and “suffered a fall and concussion.” However, this wasn’t something the fans bought to be true amid the tussle with FOM.

As per the correspondent at PA Media, Philip Duncan’s X post, “Several days ago the President (Mohammed Ben Sulayem) took ill and suffered a fall and concussion. He received care in hospital and will make a full recovery.”

This has come amid the controversial tussle between Toto and Susie Wolff and the FIA regarding the former’s investigation based on an anonymous report. However, the FIA later on dropped the case as there was no team or personnel to back the allegation against the Wolffs, therefore, proving an embarrassment for the F1 governing body.

Now, the FIA’s try to divert the attention from this to Sulayem’s illness wasn’t taken very well by the fans. They were quick to point out that Ben Sulayem was present during the 2023 FIA General Assemblies in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was perfectly fine. Admittedly, it was also mentioned by journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm that Ben Sulayem “will be in attendance at the FIA gala later on in slightly reduced prize-giving role.”

How are fans reacting to the Ben Sulayem information?

As the FIA spokesperson shared the piece of information to the media, fans are calling it out by labeling it as ‘blatant lies.’ They believe the FIA has done this to gain sympathy for Ben Sulayem. Therefore, the FIA chief falling ill just hours after the prize-giving gala did not sit well with the majority.

Given below are some of the reactions taken from X, formerly Twitter:

@emi has something to say to the FIA on getting canceled by F1 Twitter.

@mrpulseF1 brought out the now-deleted video where Ben Sulayem was perfectly fine.

@tsimiks also revealed the two posts by the FIA where Ben Sulayem was present.

The fans did not stop at this. They also went on to make memes on this. Given below are some of them:

@QuickStopF1 had a relatable face on this.

@tarmactorque joked about how Ben Sulayem might have fallen down.

@maraneIlo also posted a picture of how things might have gone down at the 2023 FIA Prize Giving Ceremony.