The FIA has parted ways with another senior figure, compliance officer Paolo Basarri.
As reported by BBC Sport, multiple sources claim the Italian was dismissed due to the FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, “losing confidence in him.”
Basarri reportedly resisted or attempted to work around several directives from Ben Sulayem.
When approached by the BBC, Basarri declined to comment.
Paolo Basarri started in his role at the FIA in 2017, under former president Jean Todt.
He was responsible for compiling a report into accusations that Ben Sulayem interfered with race operations during two rounds of the 2023 season.
A whistleblower had claimed that Ben Sulayem had intervened to overturn a penalty against Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and allegedly advised officials not to approve the Las Vegas Grand Prix street circuit.
Earlier this year it was reported that the president was cleared of “any wrongdoing” following an investigation by the FIA Compliance Department, with their findings subsequently reviewed by the FIA Ethics Committee.
In his role, Basarri looked into Lance Stroll’s altercation with his trainer following qualifying in Qatar last year.
Stroll apologised to the compliance officer, but was still issued a written warning, with the FIA asserting that it “maintains a zero-tolerance stance against misconduct and condemns any actions that may lead to physical harassment.”
Basarri is the latest high-profile figure to exit the federation in the last week. This comes on the heels of Race Director Niels Wittich’s departure, announced just two days prior.
In a statement released by the FIA, Wittich was said to have “stepped down from his position to pursue new opportunities.”
However, conflicting accounts soon began to surface, with Wittich himself telling Germany’s Motorsport-Magazin: “I did not step down.”
The FIA appointed Portuguese official Rui Marques to take over from Wittich as F1 Race Director.
Marques will be on duty from the upcoming race in Las Vegas onwards. Most recently, he served as Race Director in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
