Who is Shaila-Ann Rao? Everything about the ex-Mercedes legal advisor and Toto Wolff's close aide now working with the FIA

Former Mercedes legal advisor and Toto Wolff's close aide, Shaila-Ann Rao, is in the news post-Red Bull's cost cap breach confirmation. Rao currently acts as the Interim FIA Secretary-General for Motor Sport after Peter Bayer stepped down from the position.

Rao initially worked with the FIA and served as the association's legal director from mid-2016 to the end of 2018. She later joined Mercedes as their team's general counsel and then took up the role of special advisor to Wolff. She, however, was asked to be the replacement for the departing Secretary-General for Sport and F1 Executive Director Bayer (who also led the Abu Dhabi investigation) in June this year.

Post Rao's appointment, doubts about bias and favoritism towards Mercedes quickly surfaced. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was the first to raise concerns regarding the former Silver Arrows employee. While Rao denied the rumors back then, she is once again being questioned by Red Bull over the handling of the cost cap breach.

As reported by De Telegraaf, Red Bull have "raised eyebrows” over an ex-Mercedes employee's appointment to this FIA position. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also questioned the source of Toto Wolff's knowledge of the “paddock secret” (that Red Bull is in breach) even before the FIA confirmed it.

The Mercedes boss, however, assured that there is nothing to worry about. He said:

“For Shaila-Ann, she was at the FIA before she joined us. She was Chief Executive Officer of one of the largest sports agencies before and the positive of having Shaila-Ann in this position is she’s one about governance and transparency. She’s a lawyer. I think this is something we have always criticised in the past, that things weren’t always as transparent and as clear for the teams. This is one of the key topics she will be trying to implement. And that is good news for all of the teams.”

It will be interesting to see how Red Bull's punishment is decided and whether the team will raise their doubts against any FIA members.

---

Mercedes boss details Red Bull advantage over cost cap breach

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that Red Bull's 'minor overspend' is no small amount. The Austrian is clear that the team might have gained an unfair advantage because of this overspending.

The Silver Arrows' lead believes that even half a million could have shifted the advantage to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. He said:

“We can see that there are two top teams that are just about the same and there is another team that spends more. We know exactly that we’re spending – three and a half million a year in parts that we bring to the car. So then you can see what difference it makes to spend another $500,000. It would be a difference.”

So far, there has been no update on the penalty Red Bull might face owing to their alleged $1.8 million breach. Several team bosses and CEOs, however, desire convincing punishment against the Austrian outfit.