Mercedes F1 rivals all deny filing FIA complaint over Wolff allegations

On Tuesday, motor racing’s governing body announced that it was looking into an alleged conflict of interest regarding the transfer of confidential information between a team principal and FOM employee. 

Although the FIA did not mention names, it was widely understood that this was Toto and Susie Wolff, who is managing director of the F1 Academy series. 

In its statement, the FIA said that its compliance investigation was prompted by speculation in the media, which referred to an article in the BusinessF1 magazine, while sources at the governing body indicated that there had been complaints from team principals. 

But suggestions that team principals objected appears to have been untrue, with all of Mercedes’ rivals declaring they were not involved in any complaints.

In a co-ordinated effort to show support for Susie Wolff in particular, the teams all issued near identical statements on Wednesday evening making it clear that they were not the trigger for the FIA actions. 

The statements, which were slightly tweaked to incorporate some team names, said: “We can confirm that we have not made any complaint to the FIA regarding the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed between an F1 Team Principal and a member of FOM staff.  

“We are pleased and proud to support F1 Academy and its managing director through our commitment to sponsor an entrant in our liveries from next season.” 

Earlier in the day, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who is known to have had tough times with Toto Wolff in the past, also declared that his squad had not lodged anything official with the FIA. 

Photo by: Erik Junius

Susie Wolff

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Horner said: “Look we have a big rivalry on track but we haven't raised any official complaint, either about Susie or Toto or Mercedes to the FIA.  

“In fact, Red Bull has been the team that has got most involved with F1 Academy from its inception and to the point that between the two Red Bull-owned teams we'll be entering three cars. We've been working closely with Susie who's been doing a great job on F1 Academy.  

“So, I think we, like others, were quite surprised at the statement that came out last night. But it certainly wasn't instigated or required or set off by Red Bull.” 

The almost unprecedented unity of the response to the allegations among teams will likely serve to heap pressure on the FIA to offer an explanation as to what has prompted its decision to involve the compliance department. 

On Wednesday evening, it is understood that Mercedes had still not received any official correspondence from the FIA regarding the investigation – even though the FIA had decided to go public with a media statement on Tuesday night. 

In a strongly-worded statement Mercedes issued on Tuesday night, it denied the allegations made against Wolff and demanded full transparency from the FIA over what was going on. 

It added: “As a matter of course, we invite full, prompt, and transparent correspondence from the FIA Compliance Department regarding this investigation and its contents.”  

Motorsport.com has reached out to the FIA for a comment.