On Wednesday, Mercedes driver and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton came out in support of Susie Wolff.
CEO of the F1 Academy series of female formula promises Susie Wolff has sued the FIA, the International Automobile Federation.
It is about the claims, which have since been proven to be baseless, according to which she would have split her husband Toto Wolff with confidential information.
Toto Wolff is the team manager of F1 team Mercedes. F1 Academy is an organization under Formula One Management (FOM), which administers Formula One.
At the end of the year, the Business F1 magazine published an article, according to which several team managers were worried that Toto Wolff was receiving confidential information from a member of the FOM.
After the article was published, the FIA announced that it would investigate the matter without first notifying Mercedes, Wolff or the F1 series.
The following day, the F1 team managers published a press release in which they denied that they had filed a complaint with the FIA and said they supported Susie Wolff. After two days, the FIA said it was closing the investigation as unnecessary.
Susie Wolff described the claims as intimidation and misogyny. On Wednesday, Wolff emphasized that the FIA has not handled the matter responsibly or transparently.
– Now it’s more important than ever to highlight inappropriate behavior and make sure that people are held accountable, even though some people think that silence will absolve them of responsibility – that’s not the case, Wolff said According to the BBC.
Red Bull’s female employee accused the team manager in February Christian Horner for inappropriate behavior, but in the end the employee was fired and Horner, who denied the charges, was allowed to continue in his position.
The FIA has not said whether it is investigating Horner, although it said it was investigating the Wolffs based on one newspaper article.
In addition, the chairman of the FIA Mohammed bin Sulayemia has been suspected of influencing the results of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and attempting to prevent the certification of the Vegas GP track. Him was found not guilty on Wednesday.
Mercedes driver and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton stood up on Wednesday to support Susie Wolff and called for more open communication and decision-making in the sport.
– I am really proud of Susie. In a world where people are often silenced, her example sends a great message. Hopefully this will bring about a positive change, especially for women, Hamilton said.
– This is still a male-dominated sport. We live in a time that communicates that complaining gets you a shoe. That’s a terrible message to the world. We have to stick to the core values.