Toto Wolff takes fresh swipe at Christian Horner: ‘You can’t rely on what he says’

Toto Wolff has taken a fresh swipe at Christian Horner in relation to the FIA’s short-lived investigation after conflict of interest allegations were made.

In December 2023, the FIA announced it was looking into an alleged conflict of interest between Wolff (team boss of Mercedes) and his wife, Susie Wolff (CEO of F1 Academy).

Business F1 magazine claimed that rival team bosses had raised concerns about the Wolffs sharing confidential information.

Mercedes and F1 quickly hit back at the investigation, while Susie described the allegations as “misogynistic”.

The investigation was quickly closed after the nine rival teams released statements backing the Wolffs.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Wolff was unimpressed by Horner’s immediate reaction.

“I can take lots of shit,” the Mercedes boss said. “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.

“But the response was great. I didn’t make a single phone call to any team. Fred took it into his hands and said: ‘This is just so unfair. From Guenther Steiner to James Vowles everybody jumped on to this. They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support.”

Detailing Horner’s reluctance not to sign the document, he added: “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.

“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.

“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. It was also trying to cause shit to me by disrespecting my wife, diminishing the painful journey she went through to achieve what she did in and outside the car.”