LONDON
\nFormula One teams on Wednesday denied complaining to the governing body about Mercedes principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie, who runs the sport\u2019s all-female F1 Academy series.
\nThe paddock\u2019s power couple were in the spotlight after the FIA issued a surprise statement on Tuesday announcing its compliance department was looking into media speculation about a potential conflict of interest.
\nAccording to a report in Business F1 magazine, some team principals had raised concerns about possible leaks of information from private meetings.
\nNine of the 10 teams, all except Mercedes who issued their reaction on Tuesday, published almost identical statements via social media that effectively undermined the premise of the investigation.
\n\u201cWe can confirm that we have not made any complaint to the FIA regarding the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed between an F1 Team Principal and a member of FOM staff,\u201d they said.
\n\u201cWe are pleased and proud to support F1 Academy and its managing director through our commitment to sponsor an entrant in our liveries from next season.\u201d
\nThe F1 Academy aims to help women climb the motorsport ladder to Formula One and is supporting seven grands prix next season. All 10 teams each nominate a driver and will have their livery on a car.
\nSusie Wolff, a former racer who reports to Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali and is one of the most senior women in motorsport, issued her own statement on Tuesday saying she felt \u201cdeeply insulted\u201d to have her integrity questioned.
\nShe spoke also of \u201cintimidatory and misogynistic behaviour\u201d that was \u201cfocused on my marital status rather than my abilities\u201d. Her wording acquired particular resonance in the light of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem being embroiled in a controversy last January over decades-old sexist comments attributed to him that appeared on an old personal website.
\nMercedes also rejected allegations against Toto that it said \u201cwrongly impinges on the integrity and compliance of our team principal.\u201d Liberty Media-owned Formula One meanwhile expressed \u201ccomplete confidence that the allegations are wrong\u201d.
\nRed Bull boss Christian Horner said his dominant team had a big rivalry on track with championship runners-up Mercedes but had not raised any official complaint against Susie, Toto or Mercedes to the FIA.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, Red Bull has been the team that has got most involved with Formula One Academy from its inception, to the point that between the two Red Bull-owned teams we\u2019ll be entering three cars,\u201d he told Sky Sports television.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we, like others, were quite surprised (by) the statement that came out last night. It certainly wasn\u2019t instigated or required or set off by Red Bull. This is an FIA thing. They\u2019ve taken this action but certainly nothing to do with Red Bull,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Toto Wolff and Horner have had a fierce, and sometimes almost theatrical, rivalry over the years fuelled by the popular Netflix docu-series \u2018Drive to Survive\u2019.<\/p>\n
Formula One and the FIA have also been at loggerheads repeatedly since Ben Sulayem took the helm at the end of 2021, with the possible addition of US-based Andretti as an 11th team the latest sticking point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Formula One teams on Wednesday denied complaining to the governing body about Mercedes principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie, who runs the sport\u2019s all-female F1 Academy series. The paddock\u2019s power couple were in the spotlight after the FIA issued a surprise statement on Tuesday announcing its compliance department was looking into media speculation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-373058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n