Toto Wolff names the one rival Team Principal who initially did not sign a document in support of his wife Susie regarding FIA’s investigation

Mercedes-AMG's team boss Toto Wolff and his wife Susie were investigated by the FIA last year for an alleged conflict of interest. During an interview with The Guardian, Wolff spoke about the one rival team principal who did not sign a document in support of Susie, who was the CEO of F1 Academy, during the investigation.

After the 2023 Formula 1 season, the FIA launched an investigation against Wolff and Susie after Business F1 magazine claimed the latter allegedly passed confidential information to benefit the German team. The investigation was short-lived following a lack of evidence and Susie has now filed a complaint in the French courts regarding the statements made by the governing body against her and Wolff.

During a recent interview with The Guardian, Wolff opened up about the frustration caused by the FIA's accusation, among other challenges. The former Austrian racer also expressed concern over the behavior of Red Rull Racing's team principal Christian Horner, who allegedly initially refused to sign a document supporting Susie during the investigation.

"I can take lots of shit, 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 (Vasseur, team principal of Ferrari) took it into his hands and said: ‘This is just so unfair. From Guenther Steiner (former Haas team principal) to James Vowles (the head of Williams), everybody jumped on to this. They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support,” Wolff said.

“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," he added.

Wolff claimed Horner later signed the document:

"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."

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"Because good is not (enough) in Formula 1 anymore" - Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff clarified his 'Shelf Life' comment

Ahead of Lewis Hamilton's exit from Mercedes-AMG, team boss Toto Wolff made a controversial 'Shelf Life' comment regarding the seven-time champion. Wolff clarified his comment during a recent media interaction.

"What I was referring to is that, all of us, we age, whether it is in being in a car or on a pitch or as a manager or an entrepreneur. And this is what I’m trying to do with myself, to understand am I going from great to good, because good is not (enough) in Formula 1 anymore," Wolff explained (as reported by the Mirror UK).

The controversial statement was published in the Inside Mercedes F1: Life In The Fast Lane book by Matt Whyman.