Toto Wolff, whose wife Susie runs F1 Academy, a subsidiary of FOM, is once again in the headlines for conflicts of interest.
As early as 2022, Mercedes manager Wolff came under intense scrutiny after expressing suspicions that Red Bull had clearly breached cost caps in 2021. He popularized it during the Singapore GP and it was made official around the US GP, which excited Christian Horner.
McLaren’s Zak Brown also weighed in after allegations emerged about Wolff’s closeness with FIA interim general secretary Shaila Anne Rao. There have been reports suggesting that former Mercedes employees may have passed cost cap information to Wolff.
Rao joined the FIA after leaving Mercedes, but his close friendship with Wolff only fueled speculation. Ultimately, she was not permanently appointed by President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, which led to further rumors of sexism allegations against Sulayem.
Tensions between the FIA and F1 continued and Sulayem eventually retired from active duty in F1. There are already some small things to do, especially regarding the decision on the entry of his 11th team into this sport, which FOM has to decide.
The FIA has given the green light to Andretti Cadillac and we are thrilled to have her on the F1 grid. Against this backdrop, Business F1 has reported that a new conflict of interest has arisen between the Wolff family, Toto and Switzerland, worrying team principals in the paddock.
Sulayem does not know if this applies to a case where a rival F1 team is trying to interfere, but Susie is the head of the F1 Academy (a subsidiary of FOM and an employee of F1). Yes, Toto Mercedes is heading there. It’s a public conflict of interest.
Susie has access to confidential information about F1 and may pass it on to Toto. That’s the concern rival teams have at this point, and they think it’s a bigger concern than with Rao. So far, there has been no public reaction to such allegations.
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