Toto Wolff has once again taken aim at Christian Horner in relation to the brief investigation by the FIA into allegations of conflict of interest. Last year, Wolff and his wife Susie, CEO of the F1 Academy, were under scrutiny due to potential conflict of interest. At the time, Horner was reluctant to publicly support them.
In December 2023, the FIA announced an investigation into an alleged conflict of interest between Mercedes executive Toto Wolff and his wife Susie Wolff, CEO of the F1 Academy. The British medium Business F1 had previously reported that rival team bosses had expressed concerns about the relationship between the two and the confidential information they could potentially exchange. Mercedes responded indignantly, while Susie Wolff labeled the allegations as ‘misogynistic’.
After nine rival teams expressed their support for Toto and Susie Wolff, the investigation was closed within a few days. However, in a new interview with The Guardian, Toto Wolff criticized Christian Horner, who initially seemed to have doubted the innocence of the Wolff family.
‘Only Horner did not stand up for us’
“I can take a hit,” the Mercedes executive explained. “I’m used to it by now. But when your wife is dragged into a conflict she has nothing to do with, I’m done very quickly. Moreover, her reputation is impeccable.” Wolff expressed his gratitude towards the competitors who supported him and Susie.”The response was tremendous,” he explained. “I didn’t have to call a single team. Fred (Vasseur, editor) took the lead and said, ‘This is simply unfair.’ From Guenther Steiner to James Vowles, everyone stood up for us. Everyone, except Christian (Horner, editor), was willing to support us,” Wolff said.
Lack of Respect
“As far as I understand, he didn’t want to sign the document,” Wolff added. “The other teams were fine with that, but then he was probably advised that Red Bull wouldn’t look good. Therefore, he had to be part of the statement of support. Then he tried to get the word ‘official’ into the document. He wanted a note that no team boss had ‘officially’ filed a complaint. But when push came to shove, he just had to sign the statement.”
“In the end, I don’t think you can trust him (Horner, editor),” Wolff concluded. “Susie was unnecessarily involved in an existing rivalry. This shows a lack of respect for her achievements. It was also an attempt to get me into trouble through my wife. That really detracts from everything she has had to endure to reach this point in her career.”
