No sooner does the Formula One season end than a big story emerges about an investigation involving Toto and Susie Wolff. What is being alleged is a conflict of interest involving both of the Wolffs due to their positions within Formula One and FOM respectively. The FIA is investigating the matter while the Wolffs vehemently deny any wrongdoing. All of the other nine F1 teams have also issued statements denying that they asked the FIA for the investigation. A storm is definitely brewing irrespective of how this turns out.
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This is a breaking story and a lot will emerge in the coming weeks and months. It’s a waste of time to speculate given the dearth of available information and the early stage of the investigation. However, I think there is something behind all of this that will require some unpacking. For now, it looks like the re-emergence of a conflict between the FIA and teams (currently represented by FOG).
Call it “The Second FISA-FOCA War” perhaps?
My opinion is that this investigation is part of a much larger conflict between the various stakeholders in F1. Another conflict which has been ongoing is allowing new teams to join the grid, with Andretti Global being at the center of that one. Also, there is an emerging conflict between the current and future grand prix seasons as the calendar expands. So this announced investigation for alleged conflict of interest is not an isolated event in my opinion.
In thinking this through, it appears to me that the allegations are a bit of a stretch. Toto Wolff was a successful businessman before he got into Formula One and subsequently became a billionaire through his involvement with the Mercedes factory team. Susie is also highly intelligent and talented; she has demonstrated her capabilities as both a racing commentator and business administrator. Neither of them are fools and I doubt they are criminals either. One thing Liberty Media has been keen on is getting scoundrels out of F1. It’s bad for business after all…
Which leads us back to the likely cause of all this, money and who gets it. Team Principals like Wolff don’t want additional teams on the grid and are ok with more events as long as they are paid to race. The FIA on the other hand would like more teams and fewer races, although they can’t directly control either. What we are likely seeing here is both groups using proxies (Wolff and Andretti for example) to advance an agenda.
So we will keep an eye on this story because there is much more too it than just allegations of wrongdoing. There are big players playing for big stakes in the highest form of global motorsport. Things are about to get interesting.
