Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed his outrage in an interview with German magazine Sport Bild after the FIA investigation into an alleged conflict of interest involving him and his wife Susie Wolff was closed within just 24 hours. Wolff, who was in a technical meeting with his team when he was informed about the investigation, immediately left the meeting in search of more information. The way the FIA communicated first to the press, rather than directly informing him and his wife Susie, was not well received.
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Shortly afterwards, the FIA announced that there would be no further investigations into the Wolff couple. “After ten years as a team principal in Formula 1, I’m used to hearing things, but this story was shocking,” Wolff told Sport Bild. “When I’m in the crossfire, that’s not a problem for me. I’ve developed a ‘hard shell’ and I can deal with that. But when they come after my family, it’s a different level.”
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It was a personal attack that crossed a red line. Susie and I are professional enough to separate our different areas of expertise. I really don’t see where our work has much overlap,” concluded the Mercedes boss.
Wolff has previously stated that he is studying legal options to clear his and his wife’s names. Susie also responded to the matter, expressing a desire to understand how the false accusation came to be.