The FIA has confirmed its investigation into an alleged conflict of interest has concluded just two days after announcing it had begun.
The governing body of motorsport faced criticism from Mercedes, Formula One Management and F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff after reports elsewhere linked them to an investigation of the FIA’s Compliance division. The FIA announced the investigation on Tuesday but did not disclose the names of the parties involved.Mercedes claimed an “off-record briefing” connected the investigation “to the team principal of Mercedes-AMG F1”, Toto Wolff. It said the FIA had acted in response to “unsubstantiated allegations”. Many reports elsewhere naming the Wolffs referred to the same unbylined magazine article.
FOM said from the outset it had “complete confidence that the allegations are wrong” and it has “robust processes and procedures that ensure the segregation of information and responsibilities in the event of any potential conflict of interest.”
The status of the investigation was put in doubt yesterday when Mercedes’ nine rival F1 teams separately issued similarly-worded statements confirming they had not raised any concerns with the FIA about the details under investigation.
Today the FIA has confirmed its investigation is no longer ongoing and acknowledged FOM’s policies to prevent conflicts of interest.
“Following a review of Formula One Management’s F1 Code of Conduct and F1 Conflict of Interest Policy and confirmation that appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts, the FIA is satisfied that FOM’s compliance management system is robust enough to prevent any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information,” it said in a statement.
“The FIA can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual.
“As the regulator, the FIA has a duty to maintain the integrity of global motorsport. The FIA reaffirms its commitment to integrity and fairness.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Formula 1
- F1 CEO Domenicali wants more than six sprint races per year
- Hulkenberg named Audi’s first F1 driver for 2026
- Ricciardo needs to show “head-turning form” for 2025 chance – Horner
- F1 Commission defers decision on points change and approves new rear cameras
- Red Bull’s star designer Newey to leave team – reports
Raymond Pang
7th December 2023, 18:31
The FIA look totally farcical.
bosyber (@bosyber)
7th December 2023, 18:52
From what is now said, it really seems like someone forgot to first call FOM and ask “so compliance and confidentiality, you are a traded company, surely you have a regime in place and procedures, so this, whatever the particulars were is not an actual issue and we don’t have to worry, correct?” followed by ‘indeed, do you want to talk to a lawyer about it’ and done.
Even if there was something up, clearly it was handled in a bad way if the best face saving is above impression. FIA remains being not quite professional I suppose.
amped
7th December 2023, 21:36
We already knew that, now we can FOM to the list too. Both under the thumb of the Wolffs…
kpcart
8th December 2023, 2:56
Ok donald trump, ill take your word for it
amped
8th December 2023, 21:29
Such a comment says more about you, than I…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th December 2023, 18:34
Fastest U turn in history.
SteveP
7th December 2023, 21:40
RBR Donut?
grat
8th December 2023, 13:53
Not exactly. A claim was made, some amount of investigation happened, the claim was found baseless.
That’s not a u turn, that’s a swift open/shut investigation.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:31
Claim was made, guilty party threatened to send lots of lawyers, FIA decided it wasn’t worth it.
The investigation was not concluded, it was abandoned through intimidation.
The FIA didn’t name the Wolff’s, the Wolff’s however have personally attacked the FIA.
grat
9th December 2023, 13:48
Actually, the FIA did name the Wolffs– to the Wolffs.
And this was apparently based on an anonymous article. Bit like you getting investigated for sexual relations with goats based on an internet suggestion.
The article also claimed that multiple team principals had complained– and yet all 9 of the other team principals said “Nope, not us!” in writing, which is…. astonishing.
Almost as astonishing as your inability to actually process what happened without throwing in a lot of idle speculation and libelous accusations.
ppzzus (@ppzzus)
7th December 2023, 18:46
Can’t help but have a chuckle at this one.
PacificPR (@streydt)
8th December 2023, 6:47
Getting strong Monty Python-esk vibes from the FIA lately and it’s getting more silly every time. Not sure about those 2026 rules anyway and now I am starting to wonder if we will see just see the drivers running around the track imitating a formula 1 race car – akin to the Life of Brian, coconut scene. Anyway that will be low drag racing and for the first time DRS will be hilarious, not to mention sustainability..
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
8th December 2023, 7:08
@streydt I think you mean the Holy Grail :-), but anyway. Where did you get the coconuts?
Riccard
7th December 2023, 18:47
I’d like to congratulate the FIA on this swift and efficient investigation. The short turnaround time surely means that its policies are clear and the evidence it saw was conclusive.
I can only hope that future investigations conclude on the same admirable timetable.
Riccard
7th December 2023, 18:47
/s, for anyone who couldn’t tell
SteveP
7th December 2023, 21:41
It was a practice run for the financial audit for the cost cap – should be done in about five days… :)
Red Andy (@red-andy)
7th December 2023, 19:18
I’d like to see ol’ Toto Wolff wriggle his way out of THIS jam!
*Wolff wriggles his way out of the jam easily*
Ah! Well. Nevertheless,
grat
8th December 2023, 13:55
And that’s part of the problem. This is essentially the equivalent of an anonymous article in a tabloid– No one should have taken it seriously.
And if it wasn’t Toto Wolff, no one would have, but for some reason, many people have an irrational hatred of the guy.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:40
The problem is Toto has history for this, and that is before you account for what confidential internal information the FIA has in relation to action actions of Rao & Masi. This is simply an out of the blue investigation.
Then there is the fact it was investigation to see if there was any wrongdoing, it was not an accusation. No one was specifically named. The Wolff’s were the ones that named themselves as involved.
Irrational hatred lol, as if he and Horner aren’t literally the smarmiest TPs in the paddock. At least the others are likable. The only people that like Toto are Merc fans.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:41
*isn’t a simply out of the blue investigation
grat
9th December 2023, 13:49
Name two instances of Toto’s history with leaked information– and the Red Bull budget overage doesn’t count, because by all reports, it was an open secret within the paddock.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
7th December 2023, 19:45
Thank you FIA for that latest demonstration of your wisdom and competence.
Not only for believing a magazine whose credibility is beyond zero, but also for going public immediately and let the accused party become a target.
MichaelN
7th December 2023, 20:23
The way this went, it seems like a bit of a shot across the bow in an ongoing struggle between the FIA and F1’s clique, of which Wolff is of course a major part given his varied business interests and Mercedes’ role as a supplier to many teams (which, by sheer coincidence, tends to lead them to find agreement with Mercedes when it comes time to vote on things).
And as always, it’s not a matter of having something to hide or not – but whether the regulator wants to find something. If they want to, a dedicated enough group of people, especially with such access to the business affairs of F1 teams as the FIA has, will always be able to find something.
And good for them. It’s an FIA series, it’s not Liberty’s series.
anon
7th December 2023, 21:42
MichaelN, why are you so keen to heap praise on the FIA, given that everyone else views this whole saga as instead demonstrating that the FIA is being run incompetently by individuals who appear to be more interested in creating the illusion of power and authority than in actually investing the effort required to run the organisation they are meant to represent?
amped
8th December 2023, 2:14
anon, why are you so keen to heap praise on and defend they crooked Wolffs & FOM?
FOM are the ones that willingly ignored conflict of interest rules by hiring the spouse of a current F1 team owner, someone who’s only motorsport management comes from teams with prominent Mercedes links.
FOM are the ones here that conducted the organised attempt to deliberately mislead people by mandating teams all release statements supposedly from themselves, despite featuring identical wording that makes it obvious it is from the body that owns the sport they compete in. There is no way competing teams would defend the wife of a team principal being employed with the sport unless they were forced too. It is like them supporting making Helmut Marko head of an F1 department.
kpcart
8th December 2023, 2:59
You got no idea at all. You just dont like toto wolff is what are actually saying
MadMax (@madmax)
8th December 2023, 11:21
or letting someone change the outcome of the WDC by the RD, like 2021
MichaelN
8th December 2023, 10:43
The FIA is a huge group of people, and its leadership, for all its faults, is elected by member organisations from across the world. That gives it some credibility and status that FOM lacks. And FOM made itself look really sleazy when they went on their smear campaign of the FIA president when he dared question the utility and sustainability of Liberty’s attempt to inflate F1’s market value (presumably in an exploratory stage of one day selling it off). Then add in the teams, who haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory with their response to the Andretti entry, and it seems like a good idea not to go along with their take on this ‘incident’.
amped
7th December 2023, 22:45
To be correct, F1 as a racing series belongs to FOM/Liberty. The F1 trademarks and related infrastructure all belong to FOM. The FIA only has ownership of the World Championship status.
So if F1 & the FIA were to separate (they won’t, they have proven to be each as corrupt as the other in the cover up of the Wolff’s shady backroom deals), F1 would still be F1. The FIA could not take away trademarks that are owned by F1.
The illusion of power is that FOM & the FIA have any control, it is evidently the Wolff’s that are in control.
S
8th December 2023, 7:48
To be even more correct, F1 is entirely owned by the FIA, with the series’ commercial rights contracted out to a third party. Liberty Media, at present – but anyone with deep enough pockets could buy them.
The FIA is the other signature on that contract – and this contract only exists for reasons beyond the FIA’s legal control.
The question is not if F1 and the FIA were to separate, because that will never happen. A question some would like answered to the affirmative, however, is “When will someone create a racing series that aims to compete with F1?”
But even if such a series were created, it would still require the FIA’s co-operation to operate as an international series – because the FIA’s influence and authority extends far, far beyond F1.
Where the damage to the FIA is really done is in its attempts to accommodate the requests of F1’s stakeholders (primarily Liberty) and participants to satisfy everyone all at once.
Such compromise is a great way to give everyone something they want, but it’s the also the best way to make sure that nobody is ever completely satisfied.
And with F1, it’s enough to some stakeholders that others aren’t getting what they want.
Ludewig
7th December 2023, 20:49
This is just in: a leak from a certain Mohammed ben S reveals that the investigation was unable to find any FIA employee who has never leaked anything and could lead an investigation without a conflict of interest.
amped
7th December 2023, 22:48
Shortly after, his family members let themselves out of the basement locked from the outside, leaving the Wolff estate where they were totally willingly there…
amped
7th December 2023, 21:35
What a coverup!
Although I saw this one coming they moment Susie’s statement cried misogyny. That was a deflection tactic that allowed F1 to brush it all under the carpet. It has all been orchestrated from the start. The obvious mandatory statements straight from FOM HQ yesterday was obvious.
So we now have a corrupt F1 & FIA. Balestre would be proud!
SteveP
7th December 2023, 21:49
Yeah, I’d cover up being taken in by a dodgy rumour amplified by a cult of Artificial Personalities too.
(That’s like AI, but there’s no real personality either.)
Four Four Seven (@fourfourseven)
7th December 2023, 22:09
What a load of rubbish.
MadMax (@madmax)
8th December 2023, 11:26
The only coverup in the last years was some RD, who first turned the WDC upside down and then was gone without any further information.
grat
8th December 2023, 19:38
So you’re OK with someone’s reputation being smeared by an anonymous article in a publication known to be Bernie Ecclestone’s favorite magazine to leak information to?
Isn’t it true that you’re taking payouts from Bernie to spread malicious rumors?
No, wait, I made that bit up.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:46
An investigation that doesn’t even name them doesn’t smear them. It was hardly based on just an anonymous article no matter how many people in anonymous comments sections repeat the lie. This is not just an issue that arose in the last month.
Toto has for years seemingly had information he should not have. An FIA employee linked to him just mysteriously jumping before she is pushed following suspected leaks, and a Race Director being moved on after a tantrum from Wolff and Hamilton. I bet the FIA internal documents contain some very interesting revelations about their actions, and how they are linked back to Torger.
grat
9th December 2023, 13:51
Michael Masi did not follow the rules. He made up his own interpretation– and it’s not Toto Wolff who said that, it was the FIA.
So what were the other sources for this investigation?
Your posts are incredibly one-sided, with very little documentation– it’s obvious you’ve got a serious problem with Toto Wolff.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
7th December 2023, 21:42
Yes, you’re probably right. It was meant to be a warning for Toto Wolff. I’m no friend of his role in F1 and the power he has and (ab)uses, but leaking unfounded accusations based on an dubious report is just bad style.
Plus opening an investigation, telling the world and closing it a day later just fires back publicly and politically and strengthens the teams in their struggle against FIA.
Four Four Seven (@fourfourseven)
7th December 2023, 22:14
Ben S causing more controversy With egg on face again, he needs to go take that down fake site
SteveR (@stever)
8th December 2023, 1:10
Hmmm, ‘go take that down fate site’ indeed.
FlyingLap (@flyinglapp)
7th December 2023, 22:45
Unfounded rumors spread by disreputable journalists. Typical F1 off-season nonsense.
amped
8th December 2023, 2:23
Hardly unfounded when there is evidence of the power mad Wolff couple abusing their positions…
Did people forget Susie was literally attempting to bully the other 18 F1 drivers because they didn’t visit the F1 Academy paddock in Austin like the Mercedes drivers oh so conveniently did. This was a blatant abuse of power, the drivers don’t visit F2 or F3 paddocks.
Or Toto conveniently having lunch with Michael Masi days before the 2021 F1 Grand Prix to give him advice on how to do his job. This is Toto’s own admission.
Or Susie Wolff just happening to get jobs in motorsport linked to Toto’s business contacts throughout her career, that just happened to land her a job within the management structure of the team Toto owns and runs…
F1 has sunk to worse than Balestre periods of corruption right now. A husband and wife team abusing their power for the gain of a team that already is favoured.
Alberto
8th December 2023, 8:54
Get this man a job at Racefans – he seems to be in the know of everything F1, even what people had for lunch back in 2021
/s/
MadMax (@madmax)
8th December 2023, 11:29
the only signs of corruptions show in a different direction. you got a pretty twisted picture of what happened in the final round of 2021.
grat
8th December 2023, 19:40
That’s not even coherent. WHICH grand prix? There were 22.
You are one paranoid git.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:52
Abu Dhabi.
Hardly paranoid when Toto himself admitted he DID have lunch with Masi before the Adu Dhabi, to discuss with him how he to do his job…
Instead of mindlessly defending and worshipping the guy, you should actually look:
“Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Michael Masi was a ‘liability’ for F1 who disrespected drivers”
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12472/12587984/mercedes-boss-toto-wolff-says-michael-masi-was-a-liability-for-f1-who-disrespected-drivers
grat
9th December 2023, 13:54
The article YOU linked, doesn’t contain the information you claim it does. Yes, he gave feedback. He said that Masi should listen to the drivers more. Now, that’s obviously corruption and influence at the highest level!!!!
I do look. I do read, I don’t worship, but you’re full of it.
amped
8th December 2023, 2:28
Hardly unfounded when there is evidence of the power-mad Wolff couple abusing their positions…
Did people forget Susie was literally attempting to bully the other 18 F1 drivers because they didn’t visit the F1 Academy paddock in Austin unlike the Mercedes drivers oh so conveniently did. This was a blatant abuse of power, the drivers don’t visit F2 or F3 paddocks.
Or Toto conveniently having lunch with Michael Masi days before the 2021 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix to give him advice on how to do his job. This is Toto’s own admission. A Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton needed to win to beat Verstappen to win the championship. Sky Sports Mercedes downbeat reaction after the race tells you they wanted and expected Hamilton to win, as per the original agreement Toto made with the FIA.
Or Susie Wolff getting jobs in motorsport that just happened to be linked to Toto’s business contacts throughout her career, that just happened to land her a job within the management structure of the competition that the team Toto owns and runs…
F1 has sunk to worse than Balestre periods of corruption right now. A husband and wife team abusing their power for the gain of a team that already is favoured.
Four Four Seven (@fourfourseven)
8th December 2023, 13:24
Go back to Planet F1 you are just grandstanding again
Constantijn Blondel
8th December 2023, 6:12
So it was indeed StormInACupOfWater-gate.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th December 2023, 6:29
Good
jhg103 (@joshgeake)
8th December 2023, 7:06
I mean, are we just supposed to ignore the potential conflict of interest presented when a team owner’s wife works for the organising body?
It’s like a banker’s wife working for the FOS, it’s probably not the best idea.
Nothing may well have happened in this particular case but I’d be staggered if Susie’s lips are always sealed.
slowmo (@slowmo)
8th December 2023, 9:47
I mean it’s almost as crazy as the sports governing body hiring long standing employees of the F1 teams and the bias that they might bring in to their role. Every person in motorsport has links to other people, you can’t filter out candidates because they have/had a relationship with particular team principals. People often need to have some motorsport involvement to be relevant and fit for senior roles.
At some point you have to hire people and trust in their professionalism to not share confidential information. Casting aspersions about the conduct of people without proof is libel. If you have no evidence, it’s probably best to not make false accusations.
amped
8th December 2023, 21:58
Yes, because working for a team in the past is totally the same as working for a organisers of a racing series that your husband owns a team competing in it.
Past and current links are crucial here. Mercedes wouldn’t accept someone working in their team and another team at teh same time, and they would expect a leaving team member going to another team so go through a period of what is know as ‘gardening leave’.
LMAO at your libel comment, you can’t even grasp the concept of conflict of interest yet you claim others are libellous…
slowmo (@slowmo)
9th December 2023, 1:30
It’s libel, its a very simple fact thats not even debatable, hence why they’re deciding whether to sue.
What conflict of interest is there with Suzie Wolff working in the womens academy exactly, how does that affect F1. Second how is her working for a completely unrelated department in any way more of a conflict of interest than having Domenicali, Brawn and Todt running the FIA despite long running ties to Ferrari for example. There is a lot of more questionable appointments in F1 than Suzie Wolff that are ignored.
Coventry Climax
8th December 2023, 10:43
Comedy of the century. They’re married, for Pete’s sake. They share their lives, but don’t talk?
What a bunch of croc.
amped
8th December 2023, 22:11
And that ladies & gentleman, is why conflict of interest should always be considered, and why F1 should have not hire Susie on the basis of her close personal relationship to a team principal. Had Susie not being given a job within F1 there would be no reason for her to be included in the investigation, only Toto, Rao & Masi.
SadF1fan
8th December 2023, 11:38
The FIA handled this in the most professional manner possible, not…
Now one would expect an investigation on what happened behind the scenes surrounding this subject.
Because why was a statement released in the first place about an investigation, and why was the investigation practically immediately retracted.
It’s not the first time that the FIA is unprofessional and lacks transparency.