Wolff saga with FIA labelled ‘embarrassing’ by Ferrari chief

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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur believes the saga surrounding the investigation into Susie and Toto Wolff was “embarrassing” for Formula 1.

An unsubstantiated report from Business F1 Magazine earlier this month suggested confidential information had been shared between Susie Wolff and husband Toto, with Susie working alongside F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali in her role as managing director of the all-female series F1 Academy, and Toto the CEO of Mercedes F1 team.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, confirmed a compliance team looked into the matter but they quickly dropped the probe and stated they are satisfied that their systems are “robust enough” to prevent any “unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.”

However, Susie insists this is not the end of the matter, detailing how nobody from the FIA has spoken to her this week in a statement on Twitter/X on Friday.

Toto also confirmed he is in an “active legal exchange with the FIA” over the controversy, while Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton branded the whole episode “unacceptable.”

Vasseur agreed, saying at Ferrari’s end-of-year briefing: “I think all of this story is quite embarrassing for the whole sport.

"The story started with an article in a newspaper – I don’t know if a newspaper is the right word – and I think in this situation when you are speaking about individuals, you have to be careful about what you are saying.

"I think it would have been appropriate from the FIA to… they needed 24 hours between the announcement and the second announcement, so it would have made sense to use that 24 hours before the first announcement to avoid any bad conclusions."

It is understood the allegations centred around a comment Toto Wolff made at a team principals’ meeting recently, suggesting he had information that could only have been traced back to Formula One Management (FOM).

While Susie thanked all 10 F1 teams for their support – as they all denied raising a complaint – she told of the online abuse she and her family have faced in the aftermath of the saga and said the sport must do better.

Toto became team principal of Mercedes in 2013, winning eight constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles, while former driver Susie became F1 Academy director in March ahead of the inaugural season this year.