Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has called out the FIA over their handling of the investigation into F1 Academy director Susie Wolff and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The governing body’s probe lasted just two days and was met with staunch opposition from all ten teams on the grid.
The investigation was sparked off the back of a report from Business F1 magazine, which claimed that some team principals had complained to the FIA regarding some comments made by the Mercedes boss during meetings in the paddock. Given his position as Susie’s husband and her position within the sport, alarm bells were ringing.
Therefore, the FIA opened an investigation into the pair, prompting an extremely strong response from Susie and coordinated responses from all nine other F1 teams insisting that they had no issues or fears of a conflict of interest. The teams also said that they had not complained to the sport’s governing body about the connection.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about the saga, Vasseur stated: “I think this story is quite embarrassing for our sport. The story started with an article in a newspaper, I don’t know if newspaper is the right word. And I think in this situation when you are speaking about an individual, you have to take care of what you are saying.
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“I think it would have been appropriate from the FIA; they needed 24 hours between the announcement and the second announcement. It would have made sense to use the 24 hours before the first announcement [to investigate], to avoid any bad conclusions.”
The Ferrari boss also pointed out how unusual it was to have all ten teams united on an issue with even Toto’s long-term rival Christian Horner pledging his support for the Mercedes team principal and his partner.
“After the ‘incident’ of last week at least the teams were very united,” Vasseur continued. “The first conclusion for me is that we were able to act together and it’s not very often that even Red Bull was supportive of Toto!
“And honestly, I think it’s a good point for us also to take [a] position and to discuss with the other stakeholders. I think it’s the first time the teams together showed something like this.”
After just two days of investigating the duo, the FIA released a statement reading: “The FIA can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual. As the regulator, the FIA has a duty to maintain the integrity of global motorsport. The FIA reaffirms its commitment to integrity and fairness.”
