18/12/2023
NEWS STORY
Ferrari boss, Frederic Vasseur claims that the abortive investigation into a potential conflict of interest involving Toto and Susie Wolff was embarrassing for the sport.
The FIA announced that it was to launch an investigation seemingly on the back of an article in Business F1, a magazine that has a long-standing record of having an agenda, particularly when it comes to certain individuals involved in the sport, and particularly the Mercedes boss.
However, no sooner had the investigation been announced than it was dropped but not before Susie Wolff had issued a strong rebuttal and the teams had joined forces in also denouncing the accusation.
All of which piled more pressure on FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, who has been a thorn in the side of F1 bosses almost from the moment he was elected in December 2021.
A number of individuals have hit out at Ben Sulayem in the wake on the aborted investigation, not least Lewis Hamilton, who all but called for the Emeriti's resignation, while his boss, Toto Wolff is in an "active legal exchange" with the sport's governing body.
Now Frederic Vasseur has waded in, describing the investigation as embarrassing for F1.
"I think all of this story is quite embarrassing for the whole sport," says the Frechman. "The story started with an article in a newspaper... though I don't know if a newspaper is the right word, and I think in this situation when you are speaking about individuals, you have to be careful about what you are saying.
"I think it would have been appropriate from the FIA to... they needed 24 hours between the announcement and the second announcement, so it would have made sense to use that 24 hours before the first announcement to avoid any bad conclusions."
Despite his obvious concerns regarding the FIA, Vasseur is pleased with the current state of the sport, and was particularly impressed by the way the teams united behind the Wolffs.
"At least the first point after the, how do you call it, the 'incident' of last week, is that at least the teams were very united," he said. "And I think it was the first conclusion for me, that we were able to act together, and it's not very often you see that. Even Red Bull was supportive with Toto, we have to notice it!
"Honestly, I think it's a good point for us to take a position and discuss with all of the other stakeholders. I think it's the first time that the teams together showed something like this."
Of course, one might well argue that - as is the case when it comes to money - the teams were united only because they had a common goal, or in this case a common objective... after all, almost all of them are against Andretti joining the sport, something that has become a cause celebre for the FIA president.
"For sure, we know each time that the Concorde Agreement is discussed it is a crucial one," the Frenchman continued, "but I think that we are in a much better situation today than we were five years ago.
"Five years ago, before COVID, when we signed the current Concorde Agreement, we have to keep in mind that we had four or five teams almost in bankruptcy.
"Today it's not the same situation at all. The business is much more sustainable thanks to the cost cap, thanks to the prize fund distribution, and this for F1 is the guarantee of the stability for the future. Now you can always discuss about technical regulations, governance, prize fund distribution, but it will be marginal. It won't impact the sport, it won't impact the business, it won't impact the Formula One."