Susie Wolff has revealed that she filed a criminal complaint in a French court earlier this month against the FIA over allegations of a conflict of interest made against her last year by motorsport’s governing body.
The F1 Academy director and her husband, Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff, were the subject at the end of last year of an inquiry by the FIA’s Compliance Department into allegations of sensitive information being exchanged between “an F1 team principal and a member of Formula One Management”, meaning the Wolffs.
The probe was triggered by a questionable media report suggesting that, during a meeting of team principals, Toto Wolff made a remark based on confidential material only accessible to FOM personnel, to which his wife Susie Wolff could potentially have greater access due to her position as head of the all-female F1 Academy series.
Mercedes, Susie Wolff and Formula 1 – who had not been informed by the FIA of its investigation – immediately denounced the allegations as well as the governing body’s inquiry.
In a remarkable display of solidarity, Formula 1’s teams put out an identically worded statement in which each outfit assured that it had not filed a complaint with the FIA “regarding the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed between an F1 team principal and a member of FOM staff”.
This directly put the FIA under heavy pressure to offer an explanation as to what had prompted its decision to launch its compliance investigation.
A day later, in a swift about-face, the FIA declared, just a day before Friday’s FIA Awards Gala, that there was no ongoing inquiry into any individual in F1 regarding a potential conflict of interest issue.
However, that wasn’t good enough for Susie Wolff who made clear at the time that she intended on holding the FIA accountable for its “misleading” and “unfounded” communication.
On Wednesday, with no information on the matter – let alone an apology – forthcoming from the FIA during the past three months, Wolff announced on social media that a criminal complaint had been filed in a French court on March 4.
“I can confirm that I have personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4 March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December,” she wrote.
“There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.
“I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account.
“Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility - it does not.”
Coincidently, Susie Wolff made her action public on social media just hours after the FIA cleared its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, in two cases involving allegations brought forward by a whistleblower of interference by the latter in two separate races last year.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
