Toto Wolff has taken a pointed jab at his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner over last year’s FIA investigation into allegations of a conflict of interest involving Wolff and his wife, Susie.
At the time, the FIA’s compliance department had initiated an investigation into a media report claiming that F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff – an employee of Formula One Management – had shared confidential information with her husband.
Susie Wolff quickly hit back at the accusations, insisting they were rooted in “intimidatory and misogynistic” behaviour.
The investigation was dropped just two days after it was announced, with the FIA stating that it was satisfied with the existing processes to prevent the unauthorized disclosure between parties of confidential information.
Amid the controversy, all nine of Mercedes’ rivals publicly offered a united front defending Toto and Susie Wolff.
But in a recent interview with the Guardian, the Mercedes chief remembered being unimpressed by Horner’s initial reaction to the affair.
“I can take lots of shit, I’m used to it,” said Wolff. “ But if your wife is being dragged into a conflict she has nothing to do with, and her reputation is immaculate, that’s where the fun stops.
“But the response was great. I didn’t make a single phone call to any team. Fred [Vasseur – Ferrari team boss] took it into his hands and said: ‘This is just so unfair. From Guenther Steiner to James Vowles everybody jumped on to this.
“They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support.”
Wolff detailed Horner’s reluctance to join the wave of solidarity supporting the Mercedes team principal and his spouse.
“As far as I understand it he said: ‘I’m having my own Sky interview and I’m going to say I’m not part of it. I’m not signing the document.’
“The other nine teams said: ‘Fine.’ But obviously he was advised that wouldn’t look great and he should be part of the statement.”
Wolff said that Horner tried to impose his own wording of the statement on the group.
“In the second iteration, he tried to get the word ‘official’ in the statement,” the Austrian.
“He wanted a note to say that no one [among the team principals] officially complained to the FIA. The other teams said: ‘Fine. We do our declaration and you do your own.’ At the end, he signed it.
“I don’t think you can rely on what he says”, commented Wolff.
“I think [Susie] was collateral damage and lots of it was out of disrespect for her achievements as a female racing driver and as a contributor to change.
“It was also trying to cause shit to me by disrespecting my wife, diminishing the painful journey she went through to achieve what she did in and outside the car.”
As the competitive fires between Mercedes and Red Bull continue to burn, it’s clear that the personal and professional clashes between their leaders show no signs of cooling.
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