Yu Zhifei (L), China's F1 chief, with Michael Schumacher in this undated photo. Yu is being questioned in connection with the corruption scandal that has led to the sacking of Shanghai's top politician. (File Photo)

 

Oct. 18 - The head of Formula One motor racing in China is being questioned in connection with the corruption scandal that has led to the sacking of Shanghai's top politician.

 

Yu Zhifei, general manager of the Shanghai circuit, which hosts Formula One and Moto Grand Prix, is assisting investigators in the graft case, said the official Shanghai Securities News, citing sources familiar with the situation.

 

Shanghai's biggest corruption scandal, involving the city's billion-dollar pension fund, saw the ouster last month of the city's top Communist party chief Chen Liangyu.

 

Several senior government officials and business executives have also been sacked in an investigation that has seen 100 central government officials dispatched to China's commercial hub.

 

The newspaper said Yu was under questioning concerning the "corruption case" and the existence of "illegal operations" at the track.

 

Yu was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday, as his mobile phone number was turned off.

 

The spokesman for the Shanghai International Circuit Co., Liu Jianyou, refused to say on Wednesday where Yu was but said he was expected to turn up to a staff meeting later in the day.

 

"I'm not obliged to tell you his whereabouts," Liu said.

 

"I was with him these couple of days. We are going to have a staff meeting today and as general manager he always shows up to this kind of meeting."

 

Reports of Yu's involvement began to surface just ahead of Shanghai's third hosting of the F-1 race at the end of September.