The president of motorsport's world governing body is under investigation for allegedly interfering in the race result of a Formula 1 grand prix, according to the BBC.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem allegedly intervened with stewards following the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix to overturn a penalty handed to Spanish driver Fernando Alonso.

Alonso finished the race in third place but was handed a 10-second penalty afterwards for not serving a previous penalty correctly.

The Spaniard needed to be stationary during a pit stop for 5 seconds, with no work done on his car, due to lining up incorrectly at the start of the race.

Stewards determined that Alonso's pit crew had begun work on his car before the 5 seconds elapsed, and consequently penalised the Spaniard 10 seconds at the end of the race.

The penalty demoted Alonso to fourth, taking away what was his 100th career podium finish in F1.

However, that penalty was overturned and Alonso was promoted back to third place.

In a report by an FIA compliance officer to its ethics committee, which BBC Sport said it had seen, a whistleblower said the FIA president attempted to intervene to overturn the penalty and promote Alonso back to third.

Ben Sulayem was alleged to have contacted Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the FIA's vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was at the race in an official capacity and said he believed the stewards should return Alonso to the podium.

ABC Sport has reached out to the FIA for comment.

Alonso finished fourth in the drivers' championship last season, level on points with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and one point ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris.

Alonso would have finished sixth in the championship had the penalty in Saudi Arabia been upheld.

Formula 1 returns to Saudi Arabia this weekend for the second round of the championship.