"How unprofessional does the sports governing body look?": FIA president criticized by F1 pundit for the episode involving Mercedes boss Toto Wolff

F1 pundit Mark Gallagher recently criticized the FIA and its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for not issuing an official apology for the investigation fiasco against Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and F1 Academy's head, Susie Wolff.

The two were accused of sharing confidential information about the teams and FOM with each other. However, after all the teams got behind Susie Wolff and issued the exact same statement, the FIA dropped the inquiry but did not apologize for any reputational damages.

Hence, Mark Gallagher did not hold back when he talked about the entire incident and how the FIA did not issue an apology. He claimed that the only word that came to his mind was 'unprofessional.

Speaking on the Flat Chat podcast, he said:

“When I read the two FIA statements, the announcement of the investigation and then the fact that it was wrapped up within a couple of days, then to read Susie’s two statements, this unanimous approach that all Formula 1 teams took, to get behind her, to support Susie, I thought to myself: ‘How unprofessional does the sports governing body look?’ That’s the only word that can come to my [mind], how unprofessional.”

Gallagher feels the FIA should have issued a public apology to Susie Wolff and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. However, he does not think F1's governing body will do so simply because of its current leadership. This could be an indirect jibe at Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who is at the helm of the FIA.

“I think, instead of the FIA simply saying that the case had been wrapped up after a couple of days, it actually begs for a very fulsome public apology to her and that hasn’t happened. And I don’t think that will happen because of the current leadership,” he said.

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Former F1 team boss gives his views on the current FIA president

Former Ferrari F1 team boss and FIA president Jean Todt recently spoke about the budget that the governing body has and compared it to what he had when he started as president. Speaking to L’Equipe, he said:

“When I left, there must have been more than 250 million euros in reserves. When I arrived in 2009, there were barely 40 million [euros], although the FIA had just ceded the commercial rights to F1 for a hundred years a few years earlier. I don't call it a deficit.”

Furthermore, Todt spoke about Mohammed Ben Sulayem and stated that he was not surprised to see how Sulayem is running FIA at the moment. On this, he added:

“But I wasn't surprised, I knew who my successor was. I know the character... Everything that was put in place during my mandate was turned upside down.”

At the end of the 2021 F1 season, Jean Todt stepped down as FIA president and was succeeded by Mohammed Ben Sulayem.