Two days after releasing a shocking statement, the FIA announced on Thursday that they’d cancelled their “ongoing investigation” into F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff, and whether she was giving “confidential” information to her husband, Toto Wolff.
The FIA stated on Tuesday that they were looking into whether “FOM personnel” were handing information to a team principal, based on one report and social media speculation.
Business F1 Magazine had reported that some team principals had been left surprised after the Mercedes team principal knew secret information before it was announced in a meeting, raising concerns that Susie had spilled the beans.
The magazine went onto report that some team principals had complained to the FIA, and that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had even held talks with one team boss.
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Following the FIA’s statement which was indirectly aimed at the Wolff family, F1 and Mercedes released statements strongly denying the allegations and their shock at the governing body not informing them about the statement.
Both organisations also voiced their support for Susie, who also released an emotional statement accusing the FIA of misogyny, something she was “unsurprised” about.
In a powerful show of unity, all of the remaining nine F1 teams released similar statements to one another, denying that they’d complained to the FIA.
All nine teams expressed their support for the F1 Academy managing director.
This has since applied significant pressure onto the governing body, who released the damaging statement seemingly without evidence and purely based on one report.
Embarrassingly, they’ve since stated that “following a review” they’ve discovered that no information has been passed on and that no investigation will take place.
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The FIA’s statement read: “Following a review of Formula One Management’s F1 Code of Conduct and F1 Conflict of Interest Policy and confirmation that appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts, the FIA is satisfied that FOM’s compliance management system is robust enough to prevent any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
“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.”
Unsurprisingly, Mercedes are considering seeking redress from the FIA, for the reputational damage caused by their woeful statement.