by STEFANO OLLANU
Wolff, a case badly handled by the FIA
In recent days the International Automobile Federation had issued a statement in which he explained that, after speculation by some media (Business F1 Magazine, ed.) had decided to investigate the accusation of a possible transfer of confidential information between a FOM member and an F1 team principal. While not naming the people involved in the analysis requested from the Compliance Department, the protagonists of the affair immediately seemed cheerful, Susie and Toto Wolff. After the vehement outcry from FOM and the 10 Formula 1 teams, who immediately distanced themselves from having triggered the issue, 48 hours later the FIA did an about-face, announcing that no investigation will be launched.
According to the regulations, the Federation does not need a formal complaint from a team to initiate a compliance investigation. In fact, anyone can submit a report to the FIA Compliance Team – both through internal channels, if a member of the Federation, and through the Ethics and Compliance portal.
After the report there are three phases, the initial assessment, the investigation and the conclusion of the investigation. The Wolff case stopped at the initial evaluationwhich did not recognize the conditions for the continuation of the process.
The methods used by the FIA
Many are wondering why the FIA fed the media its intention to investigate the position of the Wolff spouses, without previously informing FOM and Mercedes of the matter. But also because the whole story was made publicif it was in a state even before the start of a possible investigation – which then never started.
BBC: Mercedes could take action against the FIA
There BBC wanted to highlight how behind the scenes there is a power struggle between Toto Wolff and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The latter did not appreciate the interventions of the Mercedes number one on a series of key F1 issues, with both public and private comments, in the more general framework of a clear worsening of relations between F1 and the FIA on multiple fronts. The teams did not appreciate that Ben Sulayem – after his intentions to withdraw from direct involvement in F1 last February – has remained rather active in recent months, so much so that they accuse him of some interventions which have greatly annoyed the environment (the second investigation into the Hamilton’s conduct in Qatar for crossing the track, the summoning of Wolff and Vasseur for swearing at the press conference).
In this scenario, Mercedes has expressed in recent days its clear disappointment with the management of the Wolff case, forcefully rejecting any accusation aimed at undermining the integrity of its team principal.
The story may not end here. There BBC in fact he underlines: “A Mercedes spokesperson said the team had taken note of the FIA statement but would not comment further. Mercedes could still opt to claim compensation from the FIA for reputational damage that his actions have inflicted on the company over the past week.”
The mooted prospect of taking the Federation to court could be a move to further tighten the circle around Ben Sulayem.
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