F1: Toto Wolff backs wife Susie after she took legal action over conflict of interest inquiry

Toto Wolff said wife Susie “has always followed through on her convictions and values” after she began legal action against motorsport’s governing body.

Susie Wolff, the F1 Academy series director, has lodged a case against the FIA following its conflict of interest inquiry into her last year.

The inquiry was launched in December but ended two days later.

“Susie is a strong woman and she doesn’t take anything from anyone,” said Wolff.

The Mercedes team principal added: “She has always followed through on her convictions and values, and that is the case here.

“She is very unemotional about it, and pragmatic, and she feels wrong was done and the court needs to hear that. Nothing is going to bring her off that path, that is how her character is.

“Susie started that process many months ago and has done it very diligently as far as I am concerned. She will go all the way.”

Wolff’s legal case revolves around an inquiry launched by the FIA into a magazine’s claims that rivals believed her relationship with her husband presented a conflict of interest in the sport.

The article in Business F1 magazine claimed a number of team principals had raised concerns with the FIA about the potential for confidential information passing between Mercedes and F1 through the Wolffs.

In her position as head of F1’s junior category for aspiring female drivers, Susie Wolff reports directly to F1 president Stefano Domenicali.

Mercedes and F1 both denied the claims. Susie Wolff said she was “deeply insulted but sadly unsurprised” by the allegations and described them as “intimidatory and misogynistic” in a social media post at the time.

Two days after announcing its compliance department was looking into the matter, the FIA ended its investigation, saying it was “satisfied” F1 had measures in place to protect against such issues.

Toto Wolff says it is important for Susie that the circumstances surrounding the issue is thoroughly investigated.

“It matters for her most to find out what happened and people take accountability and responsibility and things are not brushed under the carpet – and we, as a sport, need to do that in all areas whether that is Susie’s case or some cases with the other teams,” he said.

Wolff announced her legal case on the same day as the organisation’s ethics committee cleared its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of claims he interfered with races in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas last year.

Last month, Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner was cleared following an internal investigation into allegations of “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” towards a female colleague.

Horner, who has led Red Bull since 2005, has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The woman who made the allegations against the 50-year-old was suspended by Red Bull earlier this month.