Susie Wolff, chief executive of the all-female F1 Academy, has filed a criminal complaint against Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, over allegations made against her and her husband, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, last year. It was found to be unfounded.
Wolff and her husband were the subject of a conflict of interest investigation opened by the FIA in December 2023 following allegations that confidential information was passed between a team member and a member of the sport’s owner, Formula One Management (FOM). Owned and directed by FOM, the series focused on Toto Wolff and his wife, who are in charge of the F1 Academy.
Both parties vehemently denied the allegation and within 48 hours of the investigation beginning the FIA concluded that neither party had a case to answer.
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Wolff has made it clear that she and her husband feel their reputations have suffered great damage as a result of the FIA launching the investigation and making it public. He made it clear in a social media post on Wednesday that he would take the matter further.
“I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint with the French courts on March 4 regarding the statements made about me by the FIA last December,” he wrote. “There has still been no transparency or accountability regarding the actions of the FIA and its staff in this matter.
“I feel like it’s more important than ever to stand up, call out inappropriate behavior, and hold people accountable. “While some may think that silence absolves them of responsibility, it does not.”
There was almost immediate reaction from across F1 after the investigation was announced. The next day, in an almost unprecedented move, the other nine F1 teams each issued an almost identical statement confirming that they had made no complaints about the information passed and expressing their unanimous support for the F1 Academy.
The incident and the FIA’s subsequent escalation were humiliating for the governing body, especially given that it did not explain the reasoning behind its actions.
Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, has cleared its president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, of two allegations of interference in the 2023 season’s grand prixes, following an investigation by the FIA’s compliance officer and its six-member ethics panel. However, they have not released any details or evidence about the investigation.
The allegations were made to the FIA by a whistleblower that Ben Sulayem was interfering with two sporting decisions in 2023. The first was when he intervened in the stewards’ decision to penalize Fernando Alonso and reverse the penalty in the Saudi Arabian GP. After this, Alonso took his place on the podium.
The second was that he requested before last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix that the new track not be made suitable for racing. It was claimed that the authorities ignored the request and approved the homologation.
The allegations were made public in leaked documents, but the FIA statement said there was no evidence of presidential interference.
“After reviewing the results of the investigations, the ethics committee unanimously concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate any allegation of interference involving FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem.”
Their conclusions stated that the investigation was conducted by the FIA compliance officer and reviewed by the ethics committee over a 30-day period and included 11 witness interviews from which a final decision was reached.
“The allegations against the FIA president were unfounded and strong evidence was presented beyond all reasonable doubt to support the determination of the FIA ethics committee,” the statement said.
However, no details regarding the allegations or evidence presented to refute the allegations were provided. There is some unease within F1 that the FIA itself is conducting an internal investigation but has not provided any details on how this was done, given the circumstances surrounding the recent allegations against Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, with the sport under huge pressure to show transparency. it could be. and why he reached these conclusions.
The decision to investigate appears to have been prompted by an unsubstantiated media report alleging that Wolff had made a comment that could only have been obtained through information from a member of FOM staff. The FIA cited “media speculation” on the matter as part of its reasoning for the investigation, but there was little beyond this single source.
The reaction to this was swift. Mercedes has staunchly condemned the investigation, as has Wolff, who called it “humiliating” and said it was “rooted in frightening and misogynistic behavior.” FOM was similarly strong, warning against “making unfounded, imprudent and serious allegations.”
Since the incident, the FIA has made no apology or other explanation for its actions, citing its policy not to publicly disclose details or assessments of complaints.
With Wolff’s lawsuit, the embattled agency will face intense scrutiny over its policies and practices. Earlier Wednesday, the president announced that he had completed his own investigation into allegations that Mohammed bin Sulayem interfered in races, once again fully exonerating himself, without providing any details about the process or complaints.