Wolff Reacts To Personal Attack On His Family 'That Crossed A Red Line'

Wednesday, 13 December 2023 at 19:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff finally reacted to the FIA investigation that damaged his and his wife Susie Wolff's reputation.

About a week ago, FIA launched an investigation against Toto and Susie Wolff, seemingly based on allegations by a news agency that claimed to have had an interview with an anonymous team principal.

This anonymous team principal allegedly claimed there was a conflict of interest between the pair, as Susie was supposed to have access to valuable information from FOM (Formula One Management) that she supposedly shared with Toto.

FIA's investigation was concluded not long after all F1 teams posted statements on social media, reading they hadn't made any complaints to the organization. Moreover, they expressed support for Susie Wolff and F1 Academy.

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Mercedes's team principal kept quiet for a long time, and the only statement that came from him was shared on Mercedes's social media. The post mentioned Mercedes was in an "active legal exchange with FIA" and would address the issue later.

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Toto Wolff Statement

"We understand that there is significant media interest in the events of this week.

"We are currently in active legal exchange with the FIA.

"We await full transparency about what took place and why, and have expressly reserved all legal rights.

"Therefore we ask for your understanding that we will not be commenting officially for now, but we will certainly address the matter in due course."

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However, in a recent interview with Bild, Toto Wolff reacted to the situation. The Austrian mentioned it is common in the sport of F1 to be accused of anything. However, recent accusations "crossed a red line."

"After ten years as a team boss, I'm already [used to hearing things], but this story was shocking. When I'm caught in the crossfire, that's not a problem for me at all. I've developed a thick skin and can take it. But when you go after my family, it's a different level. An absurd accusation was created out of nowhere. It was a personal attack that crossed a red line."

Susie Wolff shared a statement saying she has received online abuse about her work and family and intended to follow up until she finds the person responsible. Toto Wolff added:

"[Susie and I] are professional enough to keep our different fields of expertise apart. I don't really see where our work has much overlap with each other."