Two days after announcing its compliance department was investigating “media speculation” of alleged inappropriate sharing of information between a Formula One Management employee and an F1 team principal, the FIA has dropped the matter.
The investigation began after British outlet BusinessF1 reported that multiple team principals had expressed concern to the FIA that Mercedes chief Toto Wolff and F1 Academy series lead Susie Wolff, who are married, were sharing confidential information with one another.
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The FIA, which is F1’s governing body, said on Thursday it had reviewed F1’s code of conduct and conflict of interest policy and determined “appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts.” It also confirmed “that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual.”
The Mercedes team and Susie Wolff each strenuously denied any inappropriate behavior. In her statement, Wolff said the accusation “seems to be rooted in intimidatory and misogynistic behavior, and focused on my marital status rather than my abilities.”
A very F1 circus
A couple of curious things stand out from this short-lived drama. For one, both F1 and Mercedes issued statements saying the FIA publicly announced its investigation without informing either of them beforehand.
“We note the generic statement from the FIA this evening, which responds to unsubstantiated allegations from a single media outlet, and the off-record briefing which has linked it to the Team Principal of Mercedes-AMG F1,” Mercedes said. “The Team has received no communication from the FIA Compliance Department on this topic and it was highly surprising to learn of the investigation through a media statement.”
Another was that after the FIA got involved, the nine other teams each issued an identical statement denying they had complained to the FIA and supported Susie Wolff, saying:
“We can confirm that we have not made any complaint to the FIA regarding the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed between an F1 Team Principal and a member of FOM staff. We are pleased and proud to support F1 Academy and its managing director through our commitment to sponsor an entrant in our liveries from next season.”
OK, they weren’t exactly identical: Haas wrote its statement with “livery” in the singular. Still, it was an impressive show of unity in a sport often riven by rivalries.
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Speaking with Sky Sports, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that his team’s rivalry with Mercedes is an on-track matter, and that “we haven’t raised any official complaint either about Susie or Toto or Mercedes to the FIA,” without specifying what he meant by “official.”
Required reading
(Photo: Lars Baron / Getty)