The goings-on between the FIA and Mercedes took a new twist on Friday, with the team exploring legal avenues – as one of the key headlines from Friday’s F1 news.
The FIA have not commented on this development at time of writing, with the team having confirmed they are in “active legal exchange” with motorsport’s governing body.
Away from that, we have exclusive chats with Christian Horner and Johnny Herbert to bring you – all part of Friday’s F1 news selection.
Toto Wolff confirms ‘active legal exchange’ with FIA
The Silver Arrows are currently in “active legal exchange” with the FIA, according to the Mercedes team principal. Earlier in the week, the team announced an investigation, which was promptly withdrawn.
Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff and his wife, F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff, were reportedly named in a single outlet as team principals and FOM officials under investigation.
Mercedes and Susie Wolff quickly refuted any allegations made against them, and the nine competitors of Mercedes issued a statement denying any communication to the FIA regarding possible conflicts of interest.
As a result, Mercedes is currently looking into their options. Toto Wolff stated on Friday that there is a lot of media interest in this week’s events.
“We and the FIA are currently engaged in an active legal exchange.
“We have specifically reserved all legal rights and are waiting for complete transparency regarding what happened and why.
We therefore kindly request your understanding that, while we will undoubtedly address the matter in due course, we will not be making any formal comments at this time.
Susie Wolff responds to FIA statement
Susie Wolff responded on social media to the FIA’s announcement of the conclusion of its investigation, saying that she trusted FOM’s procedures, before Mercedes made its announcement.
“Is that it?,” was her initial thought upon reading the FIA’s statement from yesterday, the author wrote.
“My integrity has been the subject of insinuations in public and during background briefings for the past two days, but no one from the FIA has spoken to me directly.
“I’ve worked too hard to have my reputation tarnished by an unfounded press release. I may have been the target of someone else’s failed attempt to discredit me or collateral damage in someone else’s failed attempt to discredit me personally.
We’ve advanced significantly as a sport. I have worked with a great number of dedicated women and men at Formula 1 and the FIA who have the best interests of our sport at heart, so I was really appreciative of their united support.
But there hasn’t been any accountability or transparency in this episode up to this point. I was abused online regarding my family and my job. I’m not going to be intimidated, and I’m going to keep looking until I figure out who started this campaign and misled the media.
“This week’s events are just not up to par. We must demand better as a sport because we deserve it.
Lewis Hamilton throws weight of support behind Susie Wolff at FIA Prize Giving Gala
Lewis Hamilton, who placed third in the Drivers’ Championship, was in Baku for the FIA Prize Giving Gala. However, he publicly backed Susie Wolff following what he described as “unacceptable” treatment in the previous few days.
“It’s been a difficult week, a very disappointing week, to see that our sport’s governing body has attempted to question the integrity of Susie Wolff, one of the most amazing female leaders we’ve ever had in our sport, without any investigation and without any proof,” Hamilton told reporters in Azerbaijan.
And it’s just not acceptable to simply say “sorry” at the end.
“There are many wonderful people in the sport who are making incredible contributions. The industry is always fighting to significantly increase diversity and inclusion, but it seems that some members of the FIA leadership are always trying to push us back whenever we try to advance. This needs to stop.
Leave a Reply