Formula 1 and the Mercedes team have dismissed suggestions of a conflict of interest between Toto and Susie Wolff amid a pending investigation by the FIA.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal at Mercedes F1, and Susie Wolff, Managing Director of the F1 Academy series, have been subject to complaints from rival F1 team bosses.
Their concerns relate to an understanding that Toto Wolff is privy to confidential information held by Formula One Management (FOM), which Susie receives access to.
Subsequently, complaints were reportedly made to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who has escalated the matter to the FIA Compliance Department.
“The FIA is aware of media speculation centred on the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed to an F1 team principal from a member of FOM personnel,” began a statement made by the sport’s governing body on Tuesday.
“The FIA Compliance Department is looking into the matter.”
Neither Toto nor Susie Wolff are mentioned by name in the statement, so where did the rumours start to swirl?
According to Business F1 magazine, Toto Wolff made a comment in a recent meeting that could only have been made based on information handed down by the FOM.
Formula 1 has since issued a statement in response to the FIA’s impending investigation and the specific rumours that prompted the FIA’s unexpected action.
The series says that it “notes the public statement made by the FIA this evening that was not shared with us in advance” – that it has “complete confidence that the allegations are wrong,” and “would caution anyone against making imprudent and serious allegations without substance.”
Mercedes also released a lengthy statement on the matter, calling the rumours “unsubstantiated allegations” and also categorically rebuffed the contents of the report.
“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,” it began.
“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.
“We wholly reject the allegation in the statement and associated media coverage, which wrongly impinges on the integrity and compliance of our Team Principal.
“As a matter of course, we invite full, prompt, and transparent correspondence from the FIA Compliance Department regarding this investigation and its contents.”
