Breaking; After so many years of happy marriage CEO of Mercedes AMG Toto Wolff divorce his Susie… Read In Full…
Toto Wolff
CEO of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
FIA Investigation on Toto Wolff and Wife Susie, F1 Furious. What HappenedFIA Investigation on Toto Wolff and Wife Susie, F1 Furious. What Happened
Stormy winds are blowing in Formula 1 after the FIA opened an investigation into Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife, former driver Susie, who now heads the F1 Academy, the women’s series.
The relationship between Liberty Media and the Federation has reached the lowest point in recent years, the opening of the investigation in fact would not have been shared with either the organizers or with Mercedes of which Wolff is not only the head but also a shareholder, the only care was not to name the two involved, leaving it to the media to do so, given that the rumors had been circulating for days.
“With surprise, we learned about it through the press, we reject any accusation” said the German team based in England.
But the point is another and concerns the validity of the accusations on the passing of confidential information, which as the FIA said «must be verified on the basis of speculations that have appeared in some media ». This too is a rather unusual step: relaunching the rumours means giving them credence, even before starting the ethics committee process.
It all started with an article in a trade magazine, Business F1 , which dedicated two pages to the most famous high-speed couple, highlighting the concerns of other team principals who anonymously raised the issue of conflict of interest.
During a private meeting between the team bosses, Wolff allegedly made a comment in which it was clear he was aware of news from Fom, the company that exploits the commercial rights of F1. And since his wife Susie – (the last woman to race an F1, in 20214 with Williams ) – runs the Academy, a championship outside the aegis of the FIA, the hunt for the “mole” was easy. “It makes no sense to have private meetings – said a team principal quoted by Business F1 – if after thirty seconds Stefano Domenicali and Greg Maffei (president of Liberty Media) find out what we said to each other”. Other comments, always anonymous: “It is a clear conflict of interest, it must be resolved. It is illegal and it is unethical”.
Susie Wolff reacted with outrage: “It is shocking that my integrity has been questioned in this way, with a misogynistic attack, focusing on my marriage status rather than my abilities. I will overcome this too”. But even harsher was the response from F1: “We are convinced that the allegations are false, we have strict procedures in place to avoid conflicts of interest. We believe that no one has passed on confidential information and we urge anyone not to make reckless accusations without substantiating them”.
Clear words that make it clear how deep the distance is between F1 and the FIA governed by Mohammed Ben Sulayem . Jean Todt’s successor runs Place de la Concorde with an iron fist, in recent months he has already been the protagonist of other statements or decisions that have created a stir. Like when, at the beginning of the year, commenting on a rumor about the price of F1 he had spoken of “inflated figures” . He was forced to backtrack, will it be the same this time?
Something is already happening: all ten teams (including Mercedes’ arch-rival Red Bull) have issued statements to clarify that they have never complained to the FIA about the alleged passing of confidential information. And they have reiterated their support for the Academy led by Susie Wolff.
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