Susie Wolff issues fresh update on FIA legal case after conflict of interest investigation

Susie Wolff, the head of the all-female F1 Academy series, has confirmed that her legal case against the FIA remains active.

It comes after a short-lived investigation into a potential conflict of interest involving Wolff and her husband, the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, in late 2023.

Susie Wolff reveals ‘ongoing process’ after short-lived FIA probe

The FIA launched an inquiry in December 2023 following a media report that rivals had expressed concerns that the Wolffs’ relationship presented a conflict of interest.

The probe was dropped 48 hours later after nine of the 10 teams issued identical statements declaring their opposition to the investigation and denying that they had raised complaints.

Wolff revealed three months later that she had “personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4th of March [2024] in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA.”

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She went on to claim that there “has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.”

Wolff added: “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.”

In a fresh update, Mrs Wolff has revealed that the fallout of the FIA’s brief investigation remains an “ongoing process.”

She told the Sunday Times: “I refused to be treated that way.

“It created a huge amount of articles doubting my integrity. People can have their opinions on [whether] what I do is good or not.

“But that’s something I won’t allow to happen, that people attack my integrity.”

Wolff’s latest comments come after she broke her silence on the departure of long-serving team principal Christian Horner from Red Bull in July.

Horner was sacked by Red Bull in the aftermath of this year’s British Grand Prix after more than 20 years in charge.

Horner was embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Toto Wolff’s Mercedes team across the final years of his tenure as their respective drivers, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, battled for the title.

The 51-year-old’s exit came 18 months after he faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a Red Bull colleague.

Horner, who has always denied the accusations, was cleared twice of the claims, first by an internal investigation conducted by a lawyer and then by another lawyer who dismissed the complainant’s appeal.

Wolff admitted that the Horner saga was “a real shame for the sport” and overshadowed her work with F1 Academy.

She told the same source: “Christian was supportive of F1 Academy and for that I’ll always be grateful.

“It was a real shame for the sport – the whole drama that was created with the allegations.

“We were getting so much positive momentum with F1 Academy and that all kicked off and suddenly everyone wanted to interview me about that [the Horner saga].

“He was someone that played a character very well.

“But I do think that incident maybe wasn’t the best for the image of the sport and showed that we’ve still got work to do.”

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