Susie Wolff, director of the F1 academy and wife of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, is taking legal action against the FIA.
The motorsport governing body looked into unsubstantiated media reports of an alleged sharing of confidential information between the couple, who, alongside Mercedes and Formula 1 strongly denied the allegations.
They also expressed their anger that the FIA did not inform them of the investigation before telling the media, with Susie saying she ‘deeply insulted’ by the allegations.
Toto has been the team principal and CEO of Mercedes since 2013, while Susie, formerly a test driver for Williams, was appointed managing director of the newly-launched F1 Academy, an all-female series which has the long-term aim of getting a woman on the F1 grid, in 2023.
The investigation was promptly dropped but the damage was done and now Susie has revealed she is taking legal action over the matter.
‘I can confirm that I personally filed a criminal complaint in the French courts on the 4th of March in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December,’ a statement on her Instagram read.
‘There has still not been any transparency or accountability in relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter.
‘I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account.
‘Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility – it does not.’
This comes as F1 heads down under for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
It was also announced on the same day that the much-maligned FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared by the governing body over accusations he had interfered with two F1 races last years.
It was alleged that he had demanded a penalty given to Fernando Alonso at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was to be overturned and that he had sought to prevent the new Las Vegas street circuit from being certified.
Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton was damning of the governing body when discussing the Wolffs investigation at the FIA prize giving gala in December.
He said: ‘It’s been a challenging week, a disappointing week, really, to see that the governing body of our sport has sought to question the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders we’ve ever had in our sport in Susie Wolff without questioning, without any evidence.
‘And then just saying “sorry” at the end, and that’s just unacceptable. We’ve got a lot of great people within the sport that are doing amazing work.
‘There is a constant fight to really improve diversity and inclusion within the industry, but seems there are certain individuals in the leadership of the FIA that every time we try and make a step forward they are trying to pull us back, and that has to change.’
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