Wolff case could be ‘the beginning of the end’
“After this umpteenth own goal for Mohammed Ben Sulayem it could be the beginning of the end”: this is the thesis supported by the English newspaper BBC after consulting a source within the F1 paddock at the end of this week marked by twists and turns with the FIA as a negative protagonist given that initially the Federation exposed itself through a statement announcing an investigation by the Department of Compliance regarding a potential conflict of interest, an investigation later declared concluded after just two days.
The institutional attack against Toto Wolff through his wife Susie lasted very little, just long enough to record the unanimous defense of the ten F1 teams against the Wolffs. If this messy move by the FIA started from Mohammed Ben Sulayem – who according to the Daily Mail may have targeted Toto Wolff due to differences of views on several issues – the FIA President’s position could be shaky in a closer future than one might think.
The English tabloid even went so far as to hypothesize what Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s successor could be without exaggerating with the imagination, but simply examining the ‘chain of command’ of the FIA which sees the British Robert Reid framed as vice-president with regards to sport.
Who is Robert Reid
Born in 1966, the Englishman, like Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has a past in the world of rallies, in particular as a co-driver in the WRC. He was alongside Colin McRae, but it is together with his compatriot Richard Burns who won the World Rally Championship in 2001 as navigator of the splendid Subaru Impreza. Since 2021 he has been vice president for Sport, essentially Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s deputy. In the past within the International Automobile Federation he was vice-president of the WRC Commission from 2013 to 2015, responsible for the WRC Commissioners in the two-year period 2014-2015 and President of the Closed Road Commission from 2017 to 2021. Jean Todt was also Rally co-driver.
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