Lewis Hamilton has been urged to ‘lead by example’ after calling for more transparency from the FIA, with David Coulthard accusing him of only speaking out during controversial moments. Hamilton recently took aim at F1’s governing body after it was revealed that Susie Wolff, the wife of Mercedes team principal Toto, was planning on taking legal action against them.
Last year, the couple were caught up in a media storm over an alleged conflict of interest which prompted the FIA to investigate the matter. Reports at the time suggested that some rival figures were unhappy with the situation, but every F1 team went on to insist they had not complained and the FIA dropped their inquest.
Wolff announced last month that she had filed a ‘criminal complaint’ against the FIA in a move publicly backed by Hamilton, who said the governing body had ‘no transparency’ and ‘no accountability’. However, those comments have since been questioned by former Red Bull driver Coulthard, who believes Hamilton needs to lead by example before pointing the finger at others.
Speaking on the Formula For Success podcast, Coulthard said: “There’s one school of thought that says: ‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity’. Whenever there’s been big traumas in Formula One, loss of life and horrible situations like that, the audience has grown because it takes it off the back pages and puts it on the front pages.
“We’ve had Lewis Hamilton ask for more accountability and transparency across the board. I’m always a bit curious on that, actually, because it’s like people ask for things whilst they’re not having to do it. Lead by example in being transparent and open, rather than just doing so whenever there’s a controversy.”
It comes after Eddie Jordan sided with Wolff by warning the FIA they will need to be prepared to fight tooth and nail if the issue goes to court. He also called for greater levels of transparency after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared of alleged race interference by the governing body’s own ethics committee.
“I would promise the FIA they will need to have a very comprehensive prosecutor, lawyer, whatever, because Susie Wolff would not be going into that kind of situation unprepared,” said Jordan.
“It’s similar to Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA. He’s been cleared [but was] under some serious hassle. The ethics committee of the FIA have cleared him. Some people are calling into question: who are the ethics committee? Who are they and what did they hear and was there any opposite side to it?
“We will never know and I don’t think we should take sides. I just wish all of this just evaporated and we got on with what we want to talk about, which is hardcore motor racing.”
