Toto Wolff has addressed the recent legal action undertaken by his wife, Susie, against the FIA, highlighting her pursuit of “accountability” in the matter.
In the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, Susie Wolff, who serves as the F1 Academy director, made public her decision to file a criminal complaint against the FIA.
This move comes in response to the FIA’s contentious conflict of interest investigation concerning her that unfolded in December.
Initially, the FIA initiated an inquiry into allegations from a magazine regarding concerns raised by rival teams about Susie’s relationship with her husband, Toto Wolff, who holds the position of Mercedes team principal. However, the investigation was swiftly dropped by the FIA.
Following this development, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Susie Wolff’s courageous step, criticizing Formula 1 for its perceived lack of transparency and accountability in such matters.
“First of all Susie is a strong woman, she doesn’t take anything from anyone and has always followed through on her convictions and values, and that’s the case here,” Wolff said.
“She’s very unemotional about it and pragmatic. She feels wrong was done and the court needs to hear that. Nothing is going to bring her off that path. That’s how her character is.
“It is the case and a fact that all year now we have been talking about cases of transparency and various other factors which are just not great. This is what Lewis referred to.
“We should talk about the greats of the sport and not the other stuff, but it needs to be pointed to.”
Wolff emphasized the significance of not sweeping such matters “under the carpet.”
“I think Susie, she started that process many months ago, she’s done it very diligently as far as I’m concerned and it will go all the way,” he continued.
“I think it matters for her the most to find out what happened, that people take accountability and responsibility and things are not brushed under the carpet. I think we as a sport need to do that in all areas, whether it is Susie’s case or whether it is some case with the other teams.
“Overall, this sport has such a massive platform and doing so well. Maybe sometimes we need to take it out of the jurisdiction of our sport and into the real world and see what that does.”
When asked about the possibility of it being a watershed moment for the sport, Wolff responded, “No I don’t think there is such thing as a watershed moment.
“I just think that at a certain stage we shouldn’t be just getting those hits and accepting them in all areas, to make this sport as transparent as it should be considering its importance in the world.”
