Earlier this week, the FIA announced that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie would be investigated for a ‘conflict of interest’. This has taken the world of F1 by storm, with multiple people backing the power couple. In response, Susie Wolff states that she is not surprised. She labeled this as “intimidating and misogynistic behavior”.
Other teams in the sport reportedly made a complaint to the FIA regarding Wolff and her husband. They felt that Wolff has access to a lot of confidential information, that others don’t know anything about. Toto and Susie Wolff have been accused of using this information and their connections to their advantage.
— Susie Wolff (@Susie_Wolff) December 5, 2023
Susie Wolff was not happy with the FIA’s investigation. She took to her X account to state,
“I am deeply offended, but unfortunately not surprised by the public allegations made tonight. It hurts my heart to question my integrity, especially if it seems to be rooted in intimidating and misogynistic behavior, and is more focused on my marital status than on my abilities.”
She went on to talk about the various challenges she faced in motorsport. Hence, she refuses to bulge and “in the strongest possible way”, denies all the accusations made by those who lodged the complaints, and the FIA.
Mercedes launches statement defending Toto and Susie Wolff
Toto Wolff is not just the team principal of Mercedes’ F1 team, but also owns the team. As soon as the FIA launched this investigation, the Silver Arrows responded via social media. Their statement read,
Team Statement pic.twitter.com/aUiOxteF9o
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 5, 2023
Mercedes insist the FIA did not tell them about this investigation personally. Instead, they had to learn about it through a media statement. This deeply disappointed the Brackley-based outfit.
Additionally, the rejected the accusations made by the FIA as well. They ask for the compliance department of the FIA to be wholly transparent about the investigation moving forward.