Mercedes have clapped back at the FIA after Toto Wolff was placed under investigation by the governing body.
After the governing body opened an investigation into Toto Wolff and his wife Susie for a purported conflict of interest, Mercedes responded sharply to the FIA. On Tuesday, it was reported that some rival figures had complained to the FIA about what they perceived to be a family conflict between Susie, who works for Formula One Group, and Wolff, who is a team principal.
The figures in question are reportedly worried that Wolff might have access to private information through his wife that other team principals do not have, according to BusinessF1. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, reportedly requested that the claims be looked into by the organization’s compliance department in response.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FIA said: “The FIA is aware of media rumors centered around the claim that a member of the FOM staff gave confidential information to the principal of an F1 team. The issue is being investigated by the FIA compliance department.”
Later, Mercedes retaliated with an equally harsh statement, claiming the accusations leveled against Wolff and his spouse were ‘unsubstantiated’. Additionally, they criticized the FIA for not communicating with them prior to initiating the investigation and urged them to do so right away.
“We take note of the general statement issued by the FIA this evening in response to unsubstantiated allegations made by a single media outlet, as well as the off-record briefing that has connected it to the Mercedes-AMG F1 team principal,” the statement stated.
The FIA Compliance Department has not contacted the team regarding this matter, so it was shocking to hear about the investigation through a press release. We vehemently disagree with the claim made in the statement and the related media attention, which falsely casts doubt on our team principal’s compliance and integrity.
“We naturally invite the FIA Compliance Department to communicate fully, promptly, and transparently with us about this investigation and its findings.”
In response, Formula One stated that it has “complete confidence” that Wolff and his spouse Susie, the managing director of the F1 Academy series, are innocent of the charges brought against them.
An F1 statement said, “We take note of the public statement made by the FIA this evening that was not shared with us in advance.”
We firmly believe that the accusations are untrue, and we have strong policies and procedures in place to guarantee the division of duties and information in the event that there is a possible conflict of interest. We would advise anyone against making rash and baseless accusations, as we are certain that no member of our team has disclosed anything to a team principal without authorization.”
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