This Thursday (7), the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, announced that it had closed the compliance investigation against Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and his wife, F1 Academy director Susie Wolff.
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The inquiry was made into a magazine’s allegation that rival teams believed Susie was passing confidential information to Toto, presenting a conflict of interest in the sport. But on Wednesday (6), all nine teams released joint statements, denying the allegations and saying that none of them had made complaints to the FIA about the relationship with the Wolffs and that they were “pleased and proud to support F1 Academy and its managing director”
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The FIA released a statement saying: “Following a review of Formula 1 Management’s F1 code of conduct and F1 conflict of interest policy, and confirmation that appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts, the FIA is satisfied that FOM’s compliance management system is robust enough to prevent any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information”.
The statement also added that there was “no ongoing investigation” into the matter. After the release, Susie responded and accused the FIA of a lack of transparency throughout the process. She posted a statement on her Instagram account, promising to “find out who instigated” the investigation.
The controversy has been interpreted by leading F1 figures as the result of a fight between Toto Wolff and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. According to inside sources, Sulayem has taken issue with the Mercedes team principal’s interventions in recent months, both in public and in private, on F1-related issues.