Wolff criticises Horner: 'You can't trust what he says'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
It has now been almost a year since the FIA launched (and almost immediately closed again) an investigation into Toto and his wife Susie Wolff. The trigger was an anonymous source claiming that Susie, as managing director of F1 Academy, had leaked confidential information to her husband. Eight fellow Formula 1 team bosses backed Wolff. One did not do so directly, according to the Mercedes boss: Christian Horner of Red Bull Racing.
Looking back on the whole affair, Wolff said in The Guardian: "I can take lots of sh*t. I’m used to it. But if your wife is being dragged into a conflict she has nothing to do with, and her reputation is immaculate, that’s where the fun stops," the Austrian said.
Wolff received support from all the team bosses after Fred Vasseur (Ferrari) was the first to say: 'This is not fair'. "They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support," stated Wolff, suggesting Horner was trying to distance himself from the statement.
"As far as I understand it he said: ‘I’m having my own Sky interview and I’m going to say I’m not part of it. I’m not signing the document.’ The other nine teams said: ‘Fine.’ But obviously he was advised that wouldn’t look great and he should be part of the statement."
Horner changed his mind after all
In the end, Red Bull's team boss changed his mind. Although there was another hassle at first: "In the second iteration, he tried to get the word ‘official’ in the statement. He wanted a note to say that no one [among the team principals] officially complained to the FIA. The other teams said: ‘Fine. We do our declaration and you do your own.’ At the end, he signed it."
The FIA decided to close the investigation partly after this statement by the team bosses. Speaking to Horner, Wolff did not: "No. I don’t think you can rely on what he says. I think [Susie] was collateral damage and lots of it was out of disrespect for her achievements as a female racing driver and as a contributor to change."
Wolff continued: "It was also trying to cause sh*t to me by disrespecting my wife, diminishing the painful journey she went through to achieve what she did in and outside the car.”
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton