Friday evening should have been the FIA’s crowning glory of the year. At a glittering gala in Baku, in faraway Azerbaijan, the world champions for the 2023 season were to be honoured, with Formula One champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull leading the way.

But after all that had happened in the previous days, the event was overshadowed by a dark cloud.

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For two days, from 18:30 on Tuesday to 18:30 on Thursday, the World Automobile Association (FIA) gave the impression that a conflict of interest investigation was underway against Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie, who runs the F1 Academy, a platform that aims to support young women in Formula One.

BusinessF1, published on 30 November, made serious allegations against the Wolffs, claiming that Susie had leaked confidential information from rights holder Liberty Media to her husband Toto in the course of “pillow talk” (as the headline put it).

The story went unnoticed for six days before an FIA statement about an alleged conflict of interest investigation made headlines around the world. But because the BusinessF1 story could not be substantiated, the FIA suddenly found itself with its back against the wall after a storm of protest.

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Suspicion of the FIA

The suspicion seems to revolve around the FIA allowing themselves to be used for an agenda against the Wolffs by someone else. Susie Wolff had already criticised this on Tuesday evening in a first, very emotional reaction on Instagram. On Friday afternoon, after the FIA had closed the investigation under massive pressure from all ten teams, among others, she spoke out again.

“When I saw the FIA statement last night, my first reaction was: ‘And that’s all? For two days there have been references to my integrity in public and in background briefings, but no one from the FIA has spoken to me directly,” the F1 Academy boss wrote on Instagram.

Despite all ten teams publicly stating on Wednesday night that they had not lodged any complaints against the Wolffs, the FIA allegedly continued to inform the media through unofficial channels that other teams had indeed lodged complaints against the Wolffs. 

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Why was Sulayem’s speech cancelled?

The affair continued in a bizarre way on Friday, when a scheduled speech by FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem before the World Championship press conferences was cancelled at the last minute. According to the FIA, the president had fallen ill a few days ago and suffered a concussion which required hospital treatment.

But a few hours later, Sulayem appeared fit and well on stage at the FIA gala in Baku, leading some observers to believe that the story about his health had been invented to avoid uncomfortable questions about the Wolff affair. Unlike at the press conference, no one was able to ask him questions on stage.

It is possible that the FIA president has fallen ill and that he has indeed been injured. At times during the gala he seemed confused, for example when, in his first (of many) stage appearances during the WEC ceremony, he made a joke that seemed out of place in the context of events.

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Joke out of place on stage

Sulayem was asked if he was rooting for Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To which he replied: “No matter who I’m supporting, I can’t reveal it. You know that very well. Otherwise, I’ll have a conflict of interest on my shoulders!” Which drew a rather muted laugh from the room.

Susie Wolff, on the other hand, doesn’t find what happened funny: “Maybe I was collateral damage in a failed attack on someone else, or the target of a failed attempt to discredit me personally. But I have worked too hard for mine to have my reputation called into question by an unsubstantiated press statement.”

She insists: “I have worked with so many passionate men and women in F1 and the FIA who genuinely care about the interests of our sport.” But Sulayem and his close-knit management team have not come out of the Wolff affair looking too good.”

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No apology from the FIA so far

The FIA has lacked transparency and has not been held accountable for its accusations. Apology? Nothing.

“I have had to endure online insults about my work and my family,” Wolff writes, announcing that she will “keep digging until I find out who started this campaign and misled the media”.

It is important to get the facts straight. The allegations of an alleged “leak” within the Wolff family were not originally instigated by the FIA, but by BusinessF1. The FIA didn’t even mention the names of Susie and Toto Wolff in its statement on Tuesday night, but it was worded in such a way that everyone knew who was meant.

It also seems strange that neither the Wolffs nor the Mercedes team were informed about the alleged conflict of interest investigation in front of the media.

Susie Wolff makes it clear: “What happened this week is simply not good enough. As a sport we must demand better and we deserve better.”

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MORE F1 NEWS: Hamilton openly attacks FIA president at Gala event

During the 2023 FIA Gala held in Baku, the Capital of Azerbaijan, Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton let it be known of his discomfort with F1’s sustainability efforts, and then went on to openly attack the FIA President.

Lewis Hamilton, a champion not only on the track but also as a self-appointed environmental advocate, recently expressed his discomfort with Formula One’s approach to sustainability.

Despite the sport’s efforts, including symbolic gestures such as…READ MORE ON THIS STORY