‘How can you trust the sport?’ - Lewis Hamilton calls out lack of accountability within F1

Lewis Hamilton says he is “incredibly proud” of Susie Wolff for taking legal action against F1’s governing body the FIA as he called out a lack of “transparency” and “accountability” within the sport.

Wolff, the director of the F1 Academy series and wife of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, confirmed on Wednesday that she had filed “a criminal complaint in the French courts in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December”.

The FIA launched an investigation in December over an alleged breach of confidentiality in response to a magazine’s claims that rival teams were concerned that her relationship with her husband presented a conflict of interest in the sport. The probe was dropped just two days later.

Hamilton said he hopes Wolff’s action creates change within the sport.

"Firstly, I'm incredibly proud of Susie. She's so brave. She stands for such great values. She's such a leader,” the seven-time world champion said in Melbourne ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

“In a world where often people are silenced, for her to be standing up sends such a great message. I love that she's taking it out of this world, filing it from outside, because there is a real lack of accountability here within this sport, within the FIA.

“Things that are happening behind closed doors, there is no transparency, there is really no accountability, and we need that. I think the fans need that. How can you trust the sport and what is happening here if you don’t have that?

“Hopefully, this stand that she’s taking now will create change, will have a positive impact, and especially for women. It is still a male-dominated sport, and we’re living in a time where the message is if you file a complaint, you will be fired, and that is a terrible narrative to be projecting to the world, especially when we’re talking about inclusivity here in the sport.

“We need to make sure we stay true to the core values.”

Russell added: “If things are transparent and we see the outcome of these cases, we all have a chance to judge for ourselves with all of the facts and figures in front of us. But when we don’t have the facts and figures, and there is no transparency, you always think there’s something being hidden.

“That’s why I think it’s so important for the sport now, as Lewis said, to send the right message to everybody who is supporting Formula One, watching Formula One, wants to be involved in Formula One, that things aren’t just swept under the carpet.”