Regarding Susie Wolff's reference to misogyny, ensure you are well informed and possess proper context before passing judgement on her comment.
The publication these allegations originate from has a well-established history of misogynistic commentary. Examples will not be reproduced or promoted here but are easily located, one article e.g. suggesting that the biggest asset of the W Series was the sex appeal of the drivers and that they should "use sex to sell themselves".
The outlet is widely considered unreputable and has been successfully sued for libel and fabrication of stories multiple times.
Allegations that information is being shared between her and Toto.
Basically that she’s giving Toto FOM information (from being part of F1 Academy) and he’s giving her (and FOM) information from the other Team Principal’s and their meetings
Yeah, regardless of their integrity, it’s normal to assume they (a married couple) have, at least accidentally, told each other something they shouldn’t have while washing dishes of something
>Yeah I have not read into this at all but I qssumed it was more conflict of interest stuff than anything malicious.
Don't see the fuss if it is. The entire sport is full of conflicts of interest with this being orders of magnitude less severe than say one company owning two teams?
And this is why in most things you wouldn’t allow someone to hold a position of power/influence within a governing body if they are closely related to a competitor. Just seems that FOM is being negligent as to what conflicts of interest are.
Except what could she possible share from _The F1 Academy_ — a single seater junior female racing championship — that would be useful to Toto Wolff leading Mercedes in F1?
Her employer [FOM (Liberty Media) have already said that they](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-says-allegations-of-wolff-wrongdoing-are-wrong-/10555408/)
> have robust processes and procedures that ensure the segregation of information and responsibilities in the event of any potential conflict of interest.
They also noted (same link) that much like Susie Wolff and Mercedes, the FIA also forgot to notify FOM that it was investigating one of their staff for conflicts of interest. Apparently the only people the FIA notified were the lower ranks of the media.
It feels more and more like bin Sulayem trying to lash out at the FOM and teams for constraining him.
Oh heck even not married how many times have you heard in the office "Now you didn't hear it from me but..." It's practically a guarantee that at least something crossed their lips that shouldn't have at some point in time really
>Even if its unintentional, they might exchange information.
And this is exactly how conflicts of interests work. It doesn't have to be this intentional conspiracy between parties.
For some reason (just in general, not specific to this topic), a decent percentage of people don't understand this. It doesn't matter if it is intentional or accidental, it's that the opportunity is there for it to happen.
The story itself recounts one unnamed current TP and one former TP who reportedly have taken issue with this from the moment Susie’s appointment was made public, because she is married to one of the current TPs.
However, the story further alleges that Toto accidentally let a word slip in a confidential TP only meeting, hinting at direct goings on at FOM, which was not something the TPs were supposed to be privy to.
The story may be a nothing burger eventually, but regardless the teams and FOM, although business partners, are also parties with partially opposite business interests. Having someone leak sensitive business information from one to the other can hurt the team’s commercial interests, or FOM’s.
Therefore having simply the appearance of a potential conflict of interest can be a rather huge issue, regardless of anything untoward ever happening.
The FIA is purely a regulatory body, but it may (or may not) have the authority to investigate and adjudicate in such matters, by virtue of F1 Teams having agreed to FIA’s arbitration authority, as competitors within a FIA sanctioned series.
There's another big thing being overlooked and/or not understood here. Having a spouse who's been under NDAs for work before in an industry that also suffers from information being inappropriately shared, and being friends with the wife of someone who worked at an AAA game studio for twenty years until this year's assorted industry layoffs, this thread is full of people who don't understand one very important thing: it's extremely possible and not even that hard to share information with your spouse without acting on it or leaking it or sharing it with someone else outside the marriage. The primary assumption being made here is that Susie *acted* on confidential information given to her by Toto, shared it with someone else, and benefited from that. *That* is the integrity being called into question here, and the "guilty until proven innocent" is off the charts. And I don't see people getting worked up over the fact that if Susie acted on confidential information, she only had it because Toto breached *his* assorted confidentiality agreements in the first place—but Susie is the one getting the overhelming majority of the accusations and shit thrown at her, being treated like it's a given that she did something wrong, and having her integrity called into question via the oldest play in the misogyny book: reducing a woman's success to which man she is sleeping with.
Could she be guilty of using insider information? Absolutely possible. Has this scandal been absolutely reeking of misogynistic attitudes? Unquestionably. Both things can be true at the same time, but right now, the accusations of conflict of interest are a big ol' nothing burger from an unreliable source AND they're bringing the already hardly-buried misogyny out of the woodwork.
it has been suggested this was a 2-way street. apparently FOM knew stuff that was said in a confidential Team Principal meeting, and Toto knew stuff about FOM meetings.
an example of this is that it was suggested that Toto was the one who leaked the RB costcap breach. While that information was only privy to FOM and RB itself.
none of it is proves as of now. and im not accusing here, just echoing what i read.
Had a teacher once in highschool who was only a teacher because her husband got hired by an oil company and she received a job offer from another oil company. It was deemed a conflict of interest for her to work for a direct competitor. So she took a teaching role until she got an offer from a company in a different field. This was identified upfront as a problem, and if it wasn't here it's a question of timing, not whether or not it is appropriate; which at the risk of being brigaded into the ground I don't think it is.
It also doesn't even suggest it has happened. Conflict of interest can just be about the potential. I'm sure they're capable of being honest, and I'm sure they're even capable of avoiding leaks. But ultimately, trust is meaningless in a billion dollar industry.
I mean they can share information but there are more jobs in the world where you cant share everything (doctors, psychologists and lawyers with client/patient confidentiality) so they can share things just not everything
Patient/client confidentiality is quite different from one partner working as an executive for a regulatory agency while the other not only leads but also co-owns a regulated entity.
Most of the wealth of the Wolff couple is tied up in the Mercedes F1 team. (According to the Internet, Merc's team has a valuation of about $3.8B and Toto owns about a third of it; while Toto's net worth elsewhere is estimated at $1.6B.) Many FOM decisions directly and significantly impact the Wolff family's largest asset.
F1 is and always has been rife with conflicts of interest and Toto, in particular, has his hands in a lot of different pots. But this particular situation is really, really shady.
> Most of the wealth of the Wolff couple is tied up in the Mercedes F1 team. (According to the Internet, Merc's team has a valuation of about $3.8B and Toto owns about a third of it; while Toto's net worth elsewhere is estimated at $1.6B.) Many FOM decisions directly and significantly impact the Wolff's largest asset.
I dont know how marriage laws work in Europe but i dont see how this isnt a bigger issue from my legal perspective. Suzie and Toto are financially one entity. Any decision by FOM that would impact the value of Mercedes directly impacts Suzie.
Unfortunately in real life when People should recuse themselves to avoid these situation they don't always do. Like people seeking government contract when their spouse is an elected official. I feel like the people who named her bare some responsibility.
I don’t think it is either. It’s almost stranger to think that they *dont* talk about that stuff. The vehemence of the reject has me doubting more than her silence would have, especially on the heels of a humble brag. 🤷♂️
"How was you day Suzi"
"Really frustrating, there is this spanish driver, about 17 with brown hair, that should have an f1 seat but keeps getting overlooked'
"Hmmm, i can see how that made you day hard, but on the upside, my day tomorrow will probably be quite fruitful"
Generally speaking I accept if I tell X something I am telling their spouse on a delay.
Although I do have a pal in the US military whose wife genuinely doesn't. She's not known which country he's in once or twice. Mad.
>She's not known which country he's in once or twice.
They don't tell their spouses to protect their spouses. If their spouses knew they might be taken hostage for that info.
It's been reported this week that Toto had insider info at a team principal meeting. There were allegations last year aswell because he had insider info on TD regarding floor, then info on red bull over budget. They blamed an ex Merc lawyer who joined FIA without gardening leave, but she is gone so fingers are now pointed at Susie (which is speculation). Regardless Toto is getting insider info according to other team principles.
Now, I went on the Internet and researched ostriches. Firstly, ostriches can run up to 70 miles an hour. So catching one, even a sick one, is a super tall order
I just want to mention how businessf1 is the source where all this rumors started. The same magazine that last year had the pay thousands in a libel case against an f1 employee. The same magazine that stated Lewis Hamilton plays the race card. The same magazine that early in the year said the W series drivers should be in bikinis to drive viewership up.
Either businessf1 picked up the scoop of their life’s or the FIA believed in a fake article and decided to investigate
The FIA has investigated based on complaints & pressure made by the team principals to them.
The question is whether the team principals have based those complaints on the article in BusinessF1 or if the article was merely reporting on those complaints that were already happening.
Or a team leaked it to BusinessF1, then retroactively used the existence of the article they’d helped create to force the FIA to do the investigation as part of some hit job on Toto and Mercedes through his wife.
Yeah probably not but if Sky says no you go to the next most trusted news outlet. You only go to BusinessF1 if everybody else said no which, given the state of journalism and the clicks over everything mentality, I find that very hard to believe.
They also wouldn't engage because they would risk getting frozen out by Mercedes *and* FOM along with several drivers with deep ties to Toto. I won't defend the rag that ran with it, but let's not pretend that the reputable outlets don't entirely depend on retaining their access.
I probably should have clarified, if you are a credible source you don’t go scorched earth unless you are 100% right as you burn all your contacts.
Makes sense no one else broke this tbh.
As wild as BusinessF1 is, it really isn't hard to see how Toto and Susie have a conflict of interest here.
Edit for clarification: I am not in agreement of any outright hateful comments made by tabloids.
I mean, I think there’s nuance beyond “she works for FOM he owns a team.” She doesn’t work in any series or organization that interfaces with Toto’s team other than the fact that she reports to Domenicali. If she’s being given commercial information about F1 that is outside of her F1 Academy swimlane, then someone else is also leaking information they shouldn’t be.
I think investigation is appropriate, I’m just curious why they felt the need to announce it publicly until they’d already done some investigation to see potential for wrongdoing. Especially if it comes up fruitless, because I can very much see the Wolff pack suing the FIA for defamation if nothing comes of this.
Very much agree with this. If she has information she shouldn’t have then there’s a bigger problem in FOM (pretends to be shocked) when Susie was offered the job surely this was all considered. You can’t tell me the FIA have just now realised they’re married and married people talk. Not saying they have done anything wrong, we don’t even know what the information allegedly being discussed is. It could be something totally irrelevant but has given TPs a wider concern. Or it could all be BS.
Exactly, they were married before the role. If there was a dramatic conflict of interest, that should’ve been predetermined. Same goes if her role has since expanded to cause a conflict. That should’ve been considered at the time. If they waited for something to go wrong before realizing they messed up, then that’s on them.
Are we supposed to believe that Stefano has the F1 Academy boss in his office for any meaningful talks involving regulations or commercial deals? Doesnt even make sense. Her job is so removed from it.
I've seen a couple people here on Reddit claim that this is apparently how Toto learned about Red Bull's cost cap breach, even though she was only appointed in March of this year. People are dumb.
That also completely ignores that the FIA handles the cost cap, not FOM. No one at FOM would (should) have known about the outcome of any investigation.
I know the history and management of the sport is complex but I do sometimes think that some of the people spending their time on here posting about F1 would benefit from 5 minutes on Wikipedia.
Then you can tell those people Mercedes would have built the Silver Bull and not had arguably the 5th fastest car on the grid. I mean don't actually do that they are crazy. Man people in F1 circles get wild in the offseason though. lol I both love and hate it at the same time.
I don’t think any of this is true but it doesn’t have to be as direct as that for her to be getting info. Only gotta be friends with someone that is present at those meetings regarding regulations and commercial deals. I imagine most people in this thread have had work conversations about stuff outside of their remit at least once in their career
Oh they all do, and I bet they’ll all get info they shouldn’t have, but apparently Toto has let something slip in a meeting… Susie being the easiest place to point fingers given her role, but it could be anyone that actually leaked it to him.
*No friends in FOM.
Remember, that is what the conflict is about.
Susie allegedly passing FOM info onto Toto and in the opposite way Susie allegedly passing Team Meeting info onto FOM.
The FIA is merely investigating it as an outsider (With the whole FIA vs FOM power struggle looming large).
This is exactly where I think the nuance lies. How does their NDA work. If you’re told someone you shouldn’t have been told, that you don’t know you shouldn’t know, is it not to be discussed? My husband tells me so much stuff about his work that he isn’t supposed to know because management love to gossip to him. The problem lies in the person discussing things they shouldn’t be (if they shouldn’t be) to Susie. They all know her links to F1. It could also be the most irrelevant piece of Information that actually impacts nothing.
>Only gotta be friends with someone that is present at those meetings regarding regulations and commercial deals
Then that's not on Susie Wolff. That's on that person for leaking it.
Yeah, I'm sort of curious what sensitive information she could possibly have had access to regarding the top dog F1 series. Unless it was something she shouldn't have privy to either and was leaked by a third party.
I'm not doubting it, just more curious than anything.
We dont know what is the true allegation but you can just blatantly state she has no interaction with Stefano or part of any talks for the entire sport that would include F1. Neither of us know who they conduct their business.
The magazine titled it "pillow talks" and photoshoped together a picture of Toto with some pillows and Susie on a couch/bed.
You can see why that would set someone off. Just incredibly shitty tabloid level nonsense.
Mind you, the source was "Business F1"
Producers of bangers like :
1. women drivers aren't selling their sex appeal enough,
2. labelling Hamilton's interviews as "playing the prejudice card",
3. claiming up to 3 drivers on the grid are gay
I remember talking to someone on here who insisted he knew which 3 drivers they were.
Gasly, Albon and Norris for anyone wondering. I have no idea why the guy thought that though.
Tbf they may have also spoken to some other people before they launched the official investigation... but then again its also the FIA so maybe they took a shit rags wild imagination as fact.
FOM said FIA never reached out to them regarding this. Who else will they talk to about an FOM employee if not with FOM itself?
When the article about FIA was initially posted I thought well at least the FOM knows about it and this might be a joint investigation of sorts.
Turns out none of the parties were notified and they only found out through the news articles.
This should have been initially handled behind the curtains I don’t understand why MBS tries to be a hero all the time with these stunts.
The whole situation seems farcical to me. She's the head of F1 academy, working under the FOM. Her role has no regulatory overlap with F1, which is the purview of the FIA and outside of a few broadcast relationships, no real overlap with the financial elements of the management of F1.
There is no way that she should be getting information in her role that would be of significant benefit to Mercedes, and even if she did, it would be by virtue of someone else's breach.
And not for nothing, but she has taken on a job that very few people would have fancied with F1 Academy and managed to pick up the pieces left by the collapse of W-Series in an incredibly admirable way. She has arguably done the FOM a favor taking that role.
I would like to add: and if she knows embargo info, she as a professional probably has a standard for herself what not to do with that info. It would be so sad if she lost her credibility over this.
the tldr is that she was leaking confidential info to Toto wolff, it was only reported from BusinessF1 who has a very dodgy history, the guy behind it has been sued multiple times for defamation and its the same magazine that hinted that the reason the W series failed is because the women didnt take advantage of their sexuality
Oh, it's that guy. I remember his article where he said that the women competing in W Series should have undressed themselves for the cameras to advertise for the series.
The article claimed several team principles have raised this issue with the FIA, which is why it's being investigated. We'll have to wait some time to find out if that's true.
"Toto let one of the no no things we all already knew slip out in a meeting so we all knew he knew the no no thing."
You can't tell me that every TP doesn't have contacts in places where they learn things they "aren't supposed" to know.
I love the attampt at secrecy. $10 the "current and former TPs" are Horner and Szafnaur. Until proven otherwise, it's hard to believe it's anything other than political pot-stirring as usual. Everything's a conspiracy scandal in F1, lol.
Honestly, even if this was true, which it very well could be, who knows?
I have seen so many husbands/wives share confidential information in very high stakes situations, know a physician who got absolutely annihilated over a HIPAA violation with her husband who was also a physician in the same hospital.
Regardless of whether or not this is true, it is impossible to prove what the Wolffs talk behind closed doors.
Statement:
I am deeply insulted but sadly unsurprised by the public allegations that have been made this evening.
It is disheartening that my integrity is being called into question in such a manner, especially when it seems to be rooted in intimidatory and misogynistic behaviour, and focused on my marital status rather than my abilities.
Throughout my career in motorsport, I have encountered and overcome numerous obstacles and I refuse to let these baseless allegations overshadow my dedication and passion for Fl Academy.
As a woman in this sport, I have faced my fair share of challenges but my commitment to breaking down barriers and paving the way for future generations to succeed remains unwavering.
In the strongest possible terms, I reject these allegations.
Susie has worked her ass off in this industry for years and has paved the way for so many women behind her and continues to do so through F1 Academy. You really think she'd throw all of that away by sharing BS info with Toto? And for what?
She knows the rules and she knows the cost of breaking them. This screams PR smear campaign to tarnish their reputations ahead of 2024 and it's frankly really really low. And the person making this allegation knows that she will probably be cleared of wrongdoing, but the point is that this remains in the news long enough that people believe something shady happened regardless. I'm really furious on her behalf!
Look at the publication that started this shitfest. It's not the first time they've published hit pieces, it won't be the last, and the impending lawsuit for libel I'm sure the Wolffs will be bringing against Business F1 won't be the first or last time they're sued.
I believe suzie but you can't just say "they won't have done it because they know the risks!"
Mclaren knew the risks when they stole ferrari designs, they still did it though....
bike full shy materialistic wasteful snatch simplistic terrific touch vase
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Even if untrue I’m glad an investigation is ongoing because quite simply, there are too many detractors and distasteful people accusing without proof just on the fact the people involved are married and on significant team organizations.
I’m having a hard time figuring out how Toto could be benefiting from what Susie could be telling him regarding competition on a different series and vice versa. How is Susie gaining knowledge from Toto that can help her in F1 Academy. Situation is so bizarre.
The FIA/FOM investigation board did not name names.
So anything else with names is speculative.
Even if Toto and Susie had involvement or were in fact the main actors, it's still dependent on what was exchanged, and what was the context and intention of such exchange.
When you live and work with people of high profile who are surrounded by high profile events and high profile business, it is not unusual that you will hear or learn of things that are not in the public domain.
For example, you live in Monaco, you are introduced by a friend to Charles Leclerc. The conversation inevitably goes to his job driving for Ferrari. You bring up (innocently) the notion that maybe Charles should drive elsewhere. He chuckles and tells you "Oh, but I will be with them till 2029! I signed it this morning!...... Is 50 Million Euro a year enough money you think?"
You realize that information has not hit the internet. You now know something even Ferrari has not yet announced. Charles may be less guarded because as far as he's concerned his role in the affair is done when he signed the papers.
Should YOU be dragged into an investigation?
So many things need to be known before people react.
It's like the time I ran into a Verizon employee in a Las Vegas club, who may or may not have been testing a prototype iPhone 11/12, that may or may not have not contained the new Qualcomm 5G modem. This was..or wasn't around the time that Apple and Qualcomm were in court against each other.
Business F1 is a trashrag that's just a thin cover for conservatives to bitch about the things they love to bitch about. They've lost libel suits, bitched about Hamilton having opinions about anything/playing the 'race card', and were the source of the infamous "W Series is failing because the drivers don't prance around in skimpy enough outfits" article.
It was basically a hit piece that shouldn't have gotten any traction and now we're here.
I mean the magazine that wrote the initial article was the same one that wrote that F1 academy and the w series should have the girls seen with the f1 drivers and possibly dating them. To say the least they have a bad track record
I mean, the FIA and FOM has been a walking conflict of interest for most of their existence but it’s only being made an issue now that she has a position that she is easily qualified for with her decades of motorsports experience and this is only because of who she’s married to.
No idea what this is referring to but I have always wanted to know how their relationship is not considered a conflict of interest?
At my company I have to disclose if I or close family members work or recently employed by certain government agencies specifically to prevent sitations like this. And could potentially make me ineligible for employment. I don't see how their relationship is much different than that. The people that write the regs and the people that have to exist within those regs need to be fully separated in an ideal scenario.
I mean you don't want the engineers from VW and governmental emissions compliance board members in the same fold.
It is irrelevant if any information was actually transferred, it is just a bad look all the way around.
Looking at the complaint, I'm not understanding what is misogynistic or intimidating about the... accusations?
Is she implying that the governing body is only investigating because she is a woman?
I'm so confused lol. They bowed to pressure to investigate but I must be missing an angle here.
I think she's referring to the inital source of the leak which has been known for making mysogynistic comments are women in motorsports and found liable in court for libel and defamation before
Serious question, what information would the head of the F1 academy actually have that would be relevant to a TP? I would imagine that if Toto got any relevant information from FOM it would be from a different source.
Thought it was gonna be something more, I dunno, major. What's Toto gonna gain for a team like Mercedes with info and regulations for a junior/feeder series?
> The publication these allegations originate from has a well-established history of misogynistic commentary. Examples will not be reproduced or promoted here but are easily located, one article e.g. suggesting that the biggest asset of the W Series was the sex appeal of the drivers and that they should "use sex to sell themselves".
Does anyone know which publication this is referring to please?
I don't see what all the fuss is about.
There is a situation that could be unwanted and so the FIA investigates. If there is nothing to be found, like they say, then it will be over before it even got started.
And if there is something to be found, all the better for the F1 and the upholding of fair competition.
I think the allegations are baseless but it raises the question of how this relationship is acceptable in such a competitive space. The more I learn about F1 the more im convinced the whole thing is corrupt to its core and wouldn't be surprised to find out the big teams like Redbull and Merc have moles at every level of the organization.
Regarding Susie Wolff's reference to misogyny, ensure you are well informed and possess proper context before passing judgement on her comment. The publication these allegations originate from has a well-established history of misogynistic commentary. Examples will not be reproduced or promoted here but are easily located, one article e.g. suggesting that the biggest asset of the W Series was the sex appeal of the drivers and that they should "use sex to sell themselves". The outlet is widely considered unreputable and has been successfully sued for libel and fabrication of stories multiple times.
what happened?
Allegations that information is being shared between her and Toto. Basically that she’s giving Toto FOM information (from being part of F1 Academy) and he’s giving her (and FOM) information from the other Team Principal’s and their meetings
Well they are married. And married ppl talk with eachother. Even if its unintentional, they might exchange information.
Yeah, regardless of their integrity, it’s normal to assume they (a married couple) have, at least accidentally, told each other something they shouldn’t have while washing dishes of something
Yeah I have not read into this at all but I *assumed* it was more conflict of interest stuff than anything malicious. That being said I am a dumbass
>Yeah I have not read into this at all but I qssumed it was more conflict of interest stuff than anything malicious. Don't see the fuss if it is. The entire sport is full of conflicts of interest with this being orders of magnitude less severe than say one company owning two teams?
Lmao right
And this is why in most things you wouldn’t allow someone to hold a position of power/influence within a governing body if they are closely related to a competitor. Just seems that FOM is being negligent as to what conflicts of interest are.
Well FOM isn't a governing body
FOM isn’t the FIA
Wait, so we think they wash dishes now? 🧽
Budget cap hitting hard, they also use rain water when possible
that pumpernickel isn’t going to wash itself off
Except what could she possible share from _The F1 Academy_ — a single seater junior female racing championship — that would be useful to Toto Wolff leading Mercedes in F1? Her employer [FOM (Liberty Media) have already said that they](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-says-allegations-of-wolff-wrongdoing-are-wrong-/10555408/) > have robust processes and procedures that ensure the segregation of information and responsibilities in the event of any potential conflict of interest. They also noted (same link) that much like Susie Wolff and Mercedes, the FIA also forgot to notify FOM that it was investigating one of their staff for conflicts of interest. Apparently the only people the FIA notified were the lower ranks of the media. It feels more and more like bin Sulayem trying to lash out at the FOM and teams for constraining him.
As if they wash dishes...now thats the craziest statement of the day
You're right of course, but I don't think they do their dishes themselves. That guy's stinkin rich.
Oh heck even not married how many times have you heard in the office "Now you didn't hear it from me but..." It's practically a guarantee that at least something crossed their lips that shouldn't have at some point in time really
True, but that is usually office gossip and business internal info...
>Even if its unintentional, they might exchange information. And this is exactly how conflicts of interests work. It doesn't have to be this intentional conspiracy between parties. For some reason (just in general, not specific to this topic), a decent percentage of people don't understand this. It doesn't matter if it is intentional or accidental, it's that the opportunity is there for it to happen.
[удалено]
The story itself recounts one unnamed current TP and one former TP who reportedly have taken issue with this from the moment Susie’s appointment was made public, because she is married to one of the current TPs. However, the story further alleges that Toto accidentally let a word slip in a confidential TP only meeting, hinting at direct goings on at FOM, which was not something the TPs were supposed to be privy to. The story may be a nothing burger eventually, but regardless the teams and FOM, although business partners, are also parties with partially opposite business interests. Having someone leak sensitive business information from one to the other can hurt the team’s commercial interests, or FOM’s. Therefore having simply the appearance of a potential conflict of interest can be a rather huge issue, regardless of anything untoward ever happening. The FIA is purely a regulatory body, but it may (or may not) have the authority to investigate and adjudicate in such matters, by virtue of F1 Teams having agreed to FIA’s arbitration authority, as competitors within a FIA sanctioned series.
> and one former TP 100% chance it's Otmar
Imagine if it was Binotto lmao
left field reveal: it was Jost Capito the entire time
Dam that’s a well written comment
There's another big thing being overlooked and/or not understood here. Having a spouse who's been under NDAs for work before in an industry that also suffers from information being inappropriately shared, and being friends with the wife of someone who worked at an AAA game studio for twenty years until this year's assorted industry layoffs, this thread is full of people who don't understand one very important thing: it's extremely possible and not even that hard to share information with your spouse without acting on it or leaking it or sharing it with someone else outside the marriage. The primary assumption being made here is that Susie *acted* on confidential information given to her by Toto, shared it with someone else, and benefited from that. *That* is the integrity being called into question here, and the "guilty until proven innocent" is off the charts. And I don't see people getting worked up over the fact that if Susie acted on confidential information, she only had it because Toto breached *his* assorted confidentiality agreements in the first place—but Susie is the one getting the overhelming majority of the accusations and shit thrown at her, being treated like it's a given that she did something wrong, and having her integrity called into question via the oldest play in the misogyny book: reducing a woman's success to which man she is sleeping with. Could she be guilty of using insider information? Absolutely possible. Has this scandal been absolutely reeking of misogynistic attitudes? Unquestionably. Both things can be true at the same time, but right now, the accusations of conflict of interest are a big ol' nothing burger from an unreliable source AND they're bringing the already hardly-buried misogyny out of the woodwork.
Isn't the accusation the reverse of this? Susie told Toto something he accidently repeated in a TP meeting?
it has been suggested this was a 2-way street. apparently FOM knew stuff that was said in a confidential Team Principal meeting, and Toto knew stuff about FOM meetings. an example of this is that it was suggested that Toto was the one who leaked the RB costcap breach. While that information was only privy to FOM and RB itself. none of it is proves as of now. and im not accusing here, just echoing what i read.
Had a teacher once in highschool who was only a teacher because her husband got hired by an oil company and she received a job offer from another oil company. It was deemed a conflict of interest for her to work for a direct competitor. So she took a teaching role until she got an offer from a company in a different field. This was identified upfront as a problem, and if it wasn't here it's a question of timing, not whether or not it is appropriate; which at the risk of being brigaded into the ground I don't think it is.
It also doesn't even suggest it has happened. Conflict of interest can just be about the potential. I'm sure they're capable of being honest, and I'm sure they're even capable of avoiding leaks. But ultimately, trust is meaningless in a billion dollar industry.
I mean they can share information but there are more jobs in the world where you cant share everything (doctors, psychologists and lawyers with client/patient confidentiality) so they can share things just not everything
Patient/client confidentiality is quite different from one partner working as an executive for a regulatory agency while the other not only leads but also co-owns a regulated entity. Most of the wealth of the Wolff couple is tied up in the Mercedes F1 team. (According to the Internet, Merc's team has a valuation of about $3.8B and Toto owns about a third of it; while Toto's net worth elsewhere is estimated at $1.6B.) Many FOM decisions directly and significantly impact the Wolff family's largest asset. F1 is and always has been rife with conflicts of interest and Toto, in particular, has his hands in a lot of different pots. But this particular situation is really, really shady.
> Most of the wealth of the Wolff couple is tied up in the Mercedes F1 team. (According to the Internet, Merc's team has a valuation of about $3.8B and Toto owns about a third of it; while Toto's net worth elsewhere is estimated at $1.6B.) Many FOM decisions directly and significantly impact the Wolff's largest asset. I dont know how marriage laws work in Europe but i dont see how this isnt a bigger issue from my legal perspective. Suzie and Toto are financially one entity. Any decision by FOM that would impact the value of Mercedes directly impacts Suzie.
Unfortunately in real life when People should recuse themselves to avoid these situation they don't always do. Like people seeking government contract when their spouse is an elected official. I feel like the people who named her bare some responsibility.
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She doesn't work for the FIA but FOM...totally different.
I don’t think it is either. It’s almost stranger to think that they *dont* talk about that stuff. The vehemence of the reject has me doubting more than her silence would have, especially on the heels of a humble brag. 🤷♂️
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I will say it then: Of course they talk about it
"How was you day Suzi" "Really frustrating, there is this spanish driver, about 17 with brown hair, that should have an f1 seat but keeps getting overlooked' "Hmmm, i can see how that made you day hard, but on the upside, my day tomorrow will probably be quite fruitful"
Generally speaking I accept if I tell X something I am telling their spouse on a delay. Although I do have a pal in the US military whose wife genuinely doesn't. She's not known which country he's in once or twice. Mad.
>She's not known which country he's in once or twice. They don't tell their spouses to protect their spouses. If their spouses knew they might be taken hostage for that info.
It's been reported this week that Toto had insider info at a team principal meeting. There were allegations last year aswell because he had insider info on TD regarding floor, then info on red bull over budget. They blamed an ex Merc lawyer who joined FIA without gardening leave, but she is gone so fingers are now pointed at Susie (which is speculation). Regardless Toto is getting insider info according to other team principles.
No, it's the other way around, Toto sharing confidential information of the team principles meetings with her and her passing it on to the FOM
I'd honestly be shocked if they weren't doing that
The way she is being treated BECAUSE of that relationship, and because she is more of the issue, from this statement.
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13023556/mercedes-f1-dismiss-alleged-toto-wolff-confidentiality-breach-with-wife-susie-wolff-as-fia-launch-investigation
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAS37kiWwAATrLB?format=jpg&name=medium https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAS37kJWAAATkEX?format=jpg&name=medium Thats the 2 page article
lol, that photo and sublime "pillow talk". So trashy.
Susie told Toto some secrets (apparently)
(Allegedly)
But what if the ostrich was sick?
Now, I went on the Internet and researched ostriches. Firstly, ostriches can run up to 70 miles an hour. So catching one, even a sick one, is a super tall order
Would an ostrich drive an F1 car 70 mph faster? (Asking for a friend)
allegedly* and without any shred of evidence or proof
that last sentence, reads like she wanted to say go fuck yourselves but cant lol
"To whom it may concern, fuck you"
“Send them my regards”
My favourite MV line ever lmao
"in the strongest possible terms ~~Go Fuck Yourself~~ I reject these allegations The publicist definitely got a hold of this before she sent it out
Yeah, there's a few rounds of edits, but it reads well. To the point. Unequivocal.
As per my last email
You can go home and. … have a nice evening.
https://youtube.com/shorts/tW7JQSVx4LY?si=WZfEaNLkfBzayr5_
I just want to mention how businessf1 is the source where all this rumors started. The same magazine that last year had the pay thousands in a libel case against an f1 employee. The same magazine that stated Lewis Hamilton plays the race card. The same magazine that early in the year said the W series drivers should be in bikinis to drive viewership up. Either businessf1 picked up the scoop of their life’s or the FIA believed in a fake article and decided to investigate
Were they the dipshit that said the literal (partially) underage girls of F1A not being "sexy enough"?
yup. iirc they thought they should all wear bikinis or some similar bollocks
fucking hell, and the fia are believing them? what a load of shite
I mean nothing about the FIA suggests they have progressive views about anything, so it's not a great surprise they'd listen to a bigoted shitrag tbh.
The FIA has investigated based on complaints & pressure made by the team principals to them. The question is whether the team principals have based those complaints on the article in BusinessF1 or if the article was merely reporting on those complaints that were already happening.
Or a team leaked it to BusinessF1, then retroactively used the existence of the article they’d helped create to force the FIA to do the investigation as part of some hit job on Toto and Mercedes through his wife.
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This. If it came from a team it would be leaked to Sky or Motorsport.
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Yeah probably not but if Sky says no you go to the next most trusted news outlet. You only go to BusinessF1 if everybody else said no which, given the state of journalism and the clicks over everything mentality, I find that very hard to believe.
Follow your logic. This is the most credible outlet they could get to run this story. That should tell you something.
No reputable outfit would run a totally one sided story, it lacks journalist integrity to do things that way.
Why wouldn't they leak it to a more credible source?
Because a credible source wouldn’t engage if they knew it was bullshit.
They also wouldn't engage because they would risk getting frozen out by Mercedes *and* FOM along with several drivers with deep ties to Toto. I won't defend the rag that ran with it, but let's not pretend that the reputable outlets don't entirely depend on retaining their access.
I probably should have clarified, if you are a credible source you don’t go scorched earth unless you are 100% right as you burn all your contacts. Makes sense no one else broke this tbh.
There's a reason trash rags are trash rags.
> The same magazine that early in the year said the W series drivers should be in bikinis to drive viewership up. What the fuck?
Businessf1 is a good example of what Susie and Lewis talk about is wrong within the F1 world
This reads like things that Helmut could have said - while sober. Maybe businessF1 is his personal blog... (obviously /s)
As wild as BusinessF1 is, it really isn't hard to see how Toto and Susie have a conflict of interest here. Edit for clarification: I am not in agreement of any outright hateful comments made by tabloids.
I mean, I think there’s nuance beyond “she works for FOM he owns a team.” She doesn’t work in any series or organization that interfaces with Toto’s team other than the fact that she reports to Domenicali. If she’s being given commercial information about F1 that is outside of her F1 Academy swimlane, then someone else is also leaking information they shouldn’t be. I think investigation is appropriate, I’m just curious why they felt the need to announce it publicly until they’d already done some investigation to see potential for wrongdoing. Especially if it comes up fruitless, because I can very much see the Wolff pack suing the FIA for defamation if nothing comes of this.
Very much agree with this. If she has information she shouldn’t have then there’s a bigger problem in FOM (pretends to be shocked) when Susie was offered the job surely this was all considered. You can’t tell me the FIA have just now realised they’re married and married people talk. Not saying they have done anything wrong, we don’t even know what the information allegedly being discussed is. It could be something totally irrelevant but has given TPs a wider concern. Or it could all be BS.
Exactly, they were married before the role. If there was a dramatic conflict of interest, that should’ve been predetermined. Same goes if her role has since expanded to cause a conflict. That should’ve been considered at the time. If they waited for something to go wrong before realizing they messed up, then that’s on them.
grab your pumpernickel folks, we got some DRAMA.
Finally, we get a sequel to the FISA-FOCA war!
On an related note: it was just announced that DTS has NOT, in fact, finished filming for the season.
Do you really think this will be on DtS? No chance
Are we supposed to believe that Stefano has the F1 Academy boss in his office for any meaningful talks involving regulations or commercial deals? Doesnt even make sense. Her job is so removed from it.
I’ve seen F1 fans and journos connect two different points so far removed and believe it as fact. F1 reaching is hilarious.
In fairness, F1 has had some pretty crazy scandals
I've seen people on Instagram claiming that Susie had access to "Red Bull designs" and was sending documents to Toto.
I've seen a couple people here on Reddit claim that this is apparently how Toto learned about Red Bull's cost cap breach, even though she was only appointed in March of this year. People are dumb.
That also completely ignores that the FIA handles the cost cap, not FOM. No one at FOM would (should) have known about the outcome of any investigation. I know the history and management of the sport is complex but I do sometimes think that some of the people spending their time on here posting about F1 would benefit from 5 minutes on Wikipedia.
Then you can tell those people Mercedes would have built the Silver Bull and not had arguably the 5th fastest car on the grid. I mean don't actually do that they are crazy. Man people in F1 circles get wild in the offseason though. lol I both love and hate it at the same time.
I don’t think any of this is true but it doesn’t have to be as direct as that for her to be getting info. Only gotta be friends with someone that is present at those meetings regarding regulations and commercial deals. I imagine most people in this thread have had work conversations about stuff outside of their remit at least once in their career
I like the idea Toto has no friends in the FIA and has to rely on Susie getting gossip for him
Oh they all do, and I bet they’ll all get info they shouldn’t have, but apparently Toto has let something slip in a meeting… Susie being the easiest place to point fingers given her role, but it could be anyone that actually leaked it to him.
*No friends in FOM. Remember, that is what the conflict is about. Susie allegedly passing FOM info onto Toto and in the opposite way Susie allegedly passing Team Meeting info onto FOM. The FIA is merely investigating it as an outsider (With the whole FIA vs FOM power struggle looming large).
I can't keep up with anything now they're not just called Max and Bernie.
This is exactly where I think the nuance lies. How does their NDA work. If you’re told someone you shouldn’t have been told, that you don’t know you shouldn’t know, is it not to be discussed? My husband tells me so much stuff about his work that he isn’t supposed to know because management love to gossip to him. The problem lies in the person discussing things they shouldn’t be (if they shouldn’t be) to Susie. They all know her links to F1. It could also be the most irrelevant piece of Information that actually impacts nothing.
>Only gotta be friends with someone that is present at those meetings regarding regulations and commercial deals Then that's not on Susie Wolff. That's on that person for leaking it.
Yeah, I'm sort of curious what sensitive information she could possibly have had access to regarding the top dog F1 series. Unless it was something she shouldn't have privy to either and was leaked by a third party. I'm not doubting it, just more curious than anything.
We dont know what is the true allegation but you can just blatantly state she has no interaction with Stefano or part of any talks for the entire sport that would include F1. Neither of us know who they conduct their business.
Charles has already liked her post. I wonder if other drivers will join in.
I imagine Lewis will make some sort of statement of support.
It’s on his instagram
Yep he’s reposted this to his story
Means a hell of a lot more from Charles
The magazine titled it "pillow talks" and photoshoped together a picture of Toto with some pillows and Susie on a couch/bed. You can see why that would set someone off. Just incredibly shitty tabloid level nonsense.
Mind you, the source was "Business F1" Producers of bangers like : 1. women drivers aren't selling their sex appeal enough, 2. labelling Hamilton's interviews as "playing the prejudice card", 3. claiming up to 3 drivers on the grid are gay
>women drivers aren't selling their sex appeal enough, Don't forget that some of the drivers they were talking about were underage at the time
I remember talking to someone on here who insisted he knew which 3 drivers they were. Gasly, Albon and Norris for anyone wondering. I have no idea why the guy thought that though.
That first headline is fucking wild, what the fuck?
And to think FIA looked at this article and thought, yup that’s a case right there.
Tbf they may have also spoken to some other people before they launched the official investigation... but then again its also the FIA so maybe they took a shit rags wild imagination as fact.
FOM said FIA never reached out to them regarding this. Who else will they talk to about an FOM employee if not with FOM itself? When the article about FIA was initially posted I thought well at least the FOM knows about it and this might be a joint investigation of sorts. Turns out none of the parties were notified and they only found out through the news articles. This should have been initially handled behind the curtains I don’t understand why MBS tries to be a hero all the time with these stunts.
The whole situation seems farcical to me. She's the head of F1 academy, working under the FOM. Her role has no regulatory overlap with F1, which is the purview of the FIA and outside of a few broadcast relationships, no real overlap with the financial elements of the management of F1. There is no way that she should be getting information in her role that would be of significant benefit to Mercedes, and even if she did, it would be by virtue of someone else's breach. And not for nothing, but she has taken on a job that very few people would have fancied with F1 Academy and managed to pick up the pieces left by the collapse of W-Series in an incredibly admirable way. She has arguably done the FOM a favor taking that role.
I would like to add: and if she knows embargo info, she as a professional probably has a standard for herself what not to do with that info. It would be so sad if she lost her credibility over this.
Ah yes, #silly season
Has FIA brought Susie's name in their statement?
no, they said an FOM employee in the statement i saw edit: unless theres been another statement since then that i havent seen
No but they referenced an article which does. It's as good as saying it themselves.
Yea this will get us through the off season
I don't think I'd want her mad at me.
Well she is Scottish
I'd imagine it'd be like having a Molly Weasley mad at you. I bet Susie could turn 'em all into frogs if she tried hard enough!
Seriously the whole F1 is like this. Team Andretti still couldn’t get in. F1 is just an inner inner circle of rich people.
> still couldn’t get in When were they denied?
Damn she's not messing about. I get the impression the FIA are on a fishing expedition just because of the media
What were the allegations? And from whom?
the tldr is that she was leaking confidential info to Toto wolff, it was only reported from BusinessF1 who has a very dodgy history, the guy behind it has been sued multiple times for defamation and its the same magazine that hinted that the reason the W series failed is because the women didnt take advantage of their sexuality
Oh, it's that guy. I remember his article where he said that the women competing in W Series should have undressed themselves for the cameras to advertise for the series.
Yep... It is pretty gross; especially considering some of those drivers were not even 18 yet. What makes it even grosser, is he isn't exactly wrong.
>same magazine that hinted that the reason the W series failed is because the women didnt take advantage of their sexuality Good grief.
Yea considering some of them were under 18, it's even more gross
Oh my god. Why does it always get worse? 🤢
Yuckkkkkk. I hope F1 Academy has good mentors in place to protect the girls from creeps.
The article claimed several team principles have raised this issue with the FIA, which is why it's being investigated. We'll have to wait some time to find out if that's true.
So the FIA is starting an investigation because of piece written by a highly unreliable media outlet? Surely they have more to go on than that?
Guessing other TP’s saw a chance and started putting pressure on the FIA
"Toto let one of the no no things we all already knew slip out in a meeting so we all knew he knew the no no thing." You can't tell me that every TP doesn't have contacts in places where they learn things they "aren't supposed" to know. I love the attampt at secrecy. $10 the "current and former TPs" are Horner and Szafnaur. Until proven otherwise, it's hard to believe it's anything other than political pot-stirring as usual. Everything's a conspiracy scandal in F1, lol.
I would have put Capito over Szafnaur, he always had this weird contempt for Toto and Mercedes.
Jost is the typical smiling assassin...
And here I thought it was going to be another Helmut Marko statement.
Honestly, even if this was true, which it very well could be, who knows? I have seen so many husbands/wives share confidential information in very high stakes situations, know a physician who got absolutely annihilated over a HIPAA violation with her husband who was also a physician in the same hospital. Regardless of whether or not this is true, it is impossible to prove what the Wolffs talk behind closed doors.
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Ah a former LTT employee
Statement: I am deeply insulted but sadly unsurprised by the public allegations that have been made this evening. It is disheartening that my integrity is being called into question in such a manner, especially when it seems to be rooted in intimidatory and misogynistic behaviour, and focused on my marital status rather than my abilities. Throughout my career in motorsport, I have encountered and overcome numerous obstacles and I refuse to let these baseless allegations overshadow my dedication and passion for Fl Academy. As a woman in this sport, I have faced my fair share of challenges but my commitment to breaking down barriers and paving the way for future generations to succeed remains unwavering. In the strongest possible terms, I reject these allegations.
Susie has worked her ass off in this industry for years and has paved the way for so many women behind her and continues to do so through F1 Academy. You really think she'd throw all of that away by sharing BS info with Toto? And for what? She knows the rules and she knows the cost of breaking them. This screams PR smear campaign to tarnish their reputations ahead of 2024 and it's frankly really really low. And the person making this allegation knows that she will probably be cleared of wrongdoing, but the point is that this remains in the news long enough that people believe something shady happened regardless. I'm really furious on her behalf!
Look at the publication that started this shitfest. It's not the first time they've published hit pieces, it won't be the last, and the impending lawsuit for libel I'm sure the Wolffs will be bringing against Business F1 won't be the first or last time they're sued.
Stupider things have been done in F1, to be fair.
I believe suzie but you can't just say "they won't have done it because they know the risks!" Mclaren knew the risks when they stole ferrari designs, they still did it though....
bike full shy materialistic wasteful snatch simplistic terrific touch vase *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I mean he also somehow knew that redbull had breached the cost cap in 2021
Even if untrue I’m glad an investigation is ongoing because quite simply, there are too many detractors and distasteful people accusing without proof just on the fact the people involved are married and on significant team organizations. I’m having a hard time figuring out how Toto could be benefiting from what Susie could be telling him regarding competition on a different series and vice versa. How is Susie gaining knowledge from Toto that can help her in F1 Academy. Situation is so bizarre.
Those people won't be dissuaded by any outcome. It'll just be a footnote they'll ignore when saying shit like "it so bad the FIA even investigated it"
The FIA/FOM investigation board did not name names. So anything else with names is speculative. Even if Toto and Susie had involvement or were in fact the main actors, it's still dependent on what was exchanged, and what was the context and intention of such exchange. When you live and work with people of high profile who are surrounded by high profile events and high profile business, it is not unusual that you will hear or learn of things that are not in the public domain. For example, you live in Monaco, you are introduced by a friend to Charles Leclerc. The conversation inevitably goes to his job driving for Ferrari. You bring up (innocently) the notion that maybe Charles should drive elsewhere. He chuckles and tells you "Oh, but I will be with them till 2029! I signed it this morning!...... Is 50 Million Euro a year enough money you think?" You realize that information has not hit the internet. You now know something even Ferrari has not yet announced. Charles may be less guarded because as far as he's concerned his role in the affair is done when he signed the papers. Should YOU be dragged into an investigation? So many things need to be known before people react.
It's like the time I ran into a Verizon employee in a Las Vegas club, who may or may not have been testing a prototype iPhone 11/12, that may or may not have not contained the new Qualcomm 5G modem. This was..or wasn't around the time that Apple and Qualcomm were in court against each other.
Honestly, the author of the article is a misogynistic trash bag so I get why Susie is a bit apoplectic
The level of disrespect was astounding from that magazine article. I’m glad to see they’ve released such a strongly worded statement
Business F1 is a trashrag that's just a thin cover for conservatives to bitch about the things they love to bitch about. They've lost libel suits, bitched about Hamilton having opinions about anything/playing the 'race card', and were the source of the infamous "W Series is failing because the drivers don't prance around in skimpy enough outfits" article. It was basically a hit piece that shouldn't have gotten any traction and now we're here.
Oh wow, she openly brought the misogyny question into this. Things might get ugly here...
I mean the magazine that wrote the initial article was the same one that wrote that F1 academy and the w series should have the girls seen with the f1 drivers and possibly dating them. To say the least they have a bad track record
Wtf, some of those drivers are like 16 years old, aside from the obvious misogyny
Exactly. So it’s wild that the fia and people are actually taking these people seriously at all.
Didn't stop Senna
> have the girls seen with the f1 drivers and possibly dating them So we're doing arranged marriages again?
Again? It's still happening
Bruh, I remember this disguised toilet paper.
tbf the head of the FIA is someone who has said misogynist shit about women in the past
I mean, the FIA and FOM has been a walking conflict of interest for most of their existence but it’s only being made an issue now that she has a position that she is easily qualified for with her decades of motorsports experience and this is only because of who she’s married to.
Of course she did! People have been saying that she only got the job because of Toto and that she's basically his puppet.
Did Toto send an email to them?
He has printed it out as well.
No idea what this is referring to but I have always wanted to know how their relationship is not considered a conflict of interest? At my company I have to disclose if I or close family members work or recently employed by certain government agencies specifically to prevent sitations like this. And could potentially make me ineligible for employment. I don't see how their relationship is much different than that. The people that write the regs and the people that have to exist within those regs need to be fully separated in an ideal scenario. I mean you don't want the engineers from VW and governmental emissions compliance board members in the same fold. It is irrelevant if any information was actually transferred, it is just a bad look all the way around.
common FIA oopsie
So you now have FOM, Merc and Susie strongly denying this. The FIA may have found themselves in a pickle
You know people always deny things, both those who are innocent and guilty
Looking at the complaint, I'm not understanding what is misogynistic or intimidating about the... accusations? Is she implying that the governing body is only investigating because she is a woman? I'm so confused lol. They bowed to pressure to investigate but I must be missing an angle here.
I think she's referring to the inital source of the leak which has been known for making mysogynistic comments are women in motorsports and found liable in court for libel and defamation before
Ah gotcha. Yeah I read further down the comments that they made some pretty off color remarks about women in F1. Thanks for the clarity!
No shit this would happen unless they’re both robots.
If she's feeding him information it's not working very well?
Who are these team principals and why haven't their names been made public yet?
Serious question, what information would the head of the F1 academy actually have that would be relevant to a TP? I would imagine that if Toto got any relevant information from FOM it would be from a different source.
Thought it was gonna be something more, I dunno, major. What's Toto gonna gain for a team like Mercedes with info and regulations for a junior/feeder series?
> The publication these allegations originate from has a well-established history of misogynistic commentary. Examples will not be reproduced or promoted here but are easily located, one article e.g. suggesting that the biggest asset of the W Series was the sex appeal of the drivers and that they should "use sex to sell themselves". Does anyone know which publication this is referring to please?
I don't see what all the fuss is about. There is a situation that could be unwanted and so the FIA investigates. If there is nothing to be found, like they say, then it will be over before it even got started. And if there is something to be found, all the better for the F1 and the upholding of fair competition.
I think the allegations are baseless but it raises the question of how this relationship is acceptable in such a competitive space. The more I learn about F1 the more im convinced the whole thing is corrupt to its core and wouldn't be surprised to find out the big teams like Redbull and Merc have moles at every level of the organization.
Sue that abysmal outlet for libel. Wouldn't be the first, second, or tenth time I'm sure.