Formula 1 - Attack on the Wolffs: How the Fia embarrassed itself with investigations against the Mercedes boss and his wife
Formula 1 has always been a stadium of intrigue, the excesses of which often entertain, amuse or horrify fans of the sport. Depending on which driver or which team you follow or which perspective you take. However, in the most recent rogue's act performed by Formula 1 after the end of the season, the roles were clearly assigned. The FIA took on the role of the villain on stage, while the antagonists were Mercedes team boss Toto Wolf and his wife Susie Wolff, who were supported by an alliance of all teams - and ultimately left the battlefield victorious. What remained was an embarrassed world federation and an Fia President, Mohammed bin Sulayem, whose already tarnished reputation suffered further damage.
In an interview, Wolff emphasized how fierce he felt the "attack" was: "But when you attack my family, that's a different level. An absurd accusation was created out of nothing. It was a personal attack in which a red line was crossed," he said.
What had happened?
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Uproar in Formula 1: Allegedly there was an anonymous source
On Tuesday last week, an article appeared in the industry magazine "BusinessF1" in which it was speculated that Susie Wolff, as head of the women's racing series F1 Academy, had access to confidential information from Formula 1 management (Fom) and was said to have passed it on to her husband. Conversely, Toto Wolff is said to have informed his wife about confidential discussions between the team bosses, which were then passed on to the Formula 1 management. Other team bosses allegedly complained to FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem. The information allegedly came from an anonymous source in the Fom.
Miraculously, contrary to its usual practice, the Fia immediately went public and announced a compliance investigation. The uproar was huge, not only among the Wolffs and the Mercedes team, but throughout Formula 1. Susie Wolff later reported "online abuse about my work and my family", which had been triggered by the speculation. But then something happened that had never happened before in this form. The other nine racing teams showed solidarity and declared in unison that nobody had complained about any information leaks. The Fom also rejected the accusations.
The massive backlash quickly had an effect: two days later, the Fia closed the investigation, just in time for the big gala on Friday evening in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The world governing body issued a windy statement: "After reviewing the rules of conduct at Fom and the F1 policy in cases of conflict of interest, it has been confirmed that appropriate measures are in place to avoid potential conflicts. Fia is therefore satisfied that the Fom compliance management system is robust enough to prevent unauthorized disclosure of confidential information."
The Fia turned tail
In other words, the Fia tucked tail and trolled. On Friday, the association in Baku received one from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton: It had been a "disappointing week", he let it be known. The Fia had tried to "question the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders we have ever had in our sport in Susie Wolff". His Mercedes team announced that it would consider legal action.
In the end, the main question remains: why did the world governing body act against all better judgment and turn the entire Formula 1 against itself? It is reasonable to assume that Fia President Mohammed bin Sulayem wanted to weaken one of its strongest representatives, Toto Wolff and the Mercedes team, in the power struggle with Fom boss Stefano Domenicali and Formula 1 as a whole.
Since the former rally driver from Dubai became president of the world governing body, conflicts have arisen on a regular basis. Bin Sulayem wanted to allow an eleventh team in Formula 1. So far, however, the entry of the US team Andretti has failed due to resistance from the other racing teams, who do not want to accept any financial losses and are afraid of a strong competitor. Andretti would also be a serious competitor because the car company General Motors is backing Andretti and therefore has a lot of money behind it. GM wants to provide the new team with its own engine by 2028. Bin Sulayem also upset the teams with his public speculation about selling the racing series to Saudi Arabia - which did not go down too well.
So if Bin Sulayem is indeed behind the attack on Susie and Toto Wolff, the Emirati has made a huge gamble and achieved something that has never been seen before in this form: unity among the ten racing teams. In the battle for supremacy in Formula 1, this is a setback.
Süddeutsche Zeitung","Motorsport total","Motorsport Magazin","Auto Motor Sport"
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Source: www.stern.de
