"Duel" with the FIA

Wolff’s lawsuit: “She won’t put up with anything”

Susie Wolff is taking legal action against the FIA. "Susie is a strong woman and doesn't put up with anything," says husband and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

The head of the female junior series F1 Academy filed a criminal complaint with the French courts at the beginning of the month regarding the FIA's statements about her last December. At the time, she was accused of betraying a secret. However, the FIA dropped the investigation just two days after it was published.

"Susie is a strong woman and doesn't put up with anything," said Toto Wolff in the paddock in Melbourne. "She felt extremely disadvantaged that such an accusation came out of nowhere." By going to court, his wife wants to clarify several points: "How could this happen? Who was involved? Why was there such an unjust procedure?"

Alleged conflict of interest
The background to this was a media report about an alleged conflict of interest involving Toto Wolff and his wife, about which other Formula 1 officials had allegedly complained to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. According to this, confidential information was allegedly leaked to a Formula 1 team boss by an employee of the Formula 1 rights holder. Toto Wolff called for transparency. "If you try to sweep things under the carpet, everything just gets bigger," he said.