Lewis Hamilton’s Defense of Susie Wolff Gets Crushed as Toto Wolff’s FIA Case Takes New Turn

via Imago

When the Wolff family became the center of attention due to allegations of a potential conflict of interest, Lewis Hamilton came out swinging in defense of Susie Wolff. However, as the accusers double down on their claims about Susie and Toto Wolff in the January 2024 issue of the Business F1 Magazine, Hamilton’s defense now seems a bit out of place. Tom Rubython, the founder of the magazine, ridicules Susie’s claim that FIA’s actions are sexist and misogynistic.

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The saga began in early December when the FIA briefly investigated claims raised by Business F1 Magazine regarding a possible exchange of confidential information within the Wolff family based on the supposed concerns raised by team principals. The concerns stemmed from the fact that Susie Wolff, who works directly under Stefano Domenicali as the managing director of the F1 Academy, might have confidential information about the teams and their operation that she might have shared with her husband.

Business F1 Magazine challenges claims made by Lewis Hamilton and Susie Wolff against the FIA

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When the FIA launched a compliance investigation, Susie Wolff responded strongly. She asserted that the FIA’s actions relied on intimidation and misogyny. They questioned her integrity not for her actions, but because of who she was married to. She released a statement where she said she felt deeply insulted yet sadly unsurprised.

Lewis Hamilton, who has been with Mercedes and known Susie for almost 11 years quickly shared his sentiments and labeled the treatment of Susie Wolff as unacceptable and called for a change in the leadership of the sport’s governing body during the FIA prize-giving in Baku. “There is a constant fight to really improve diversity and inclusion within the industry. It seems there are certain individuals in the leadership of the FIA that every time we try and make a step forward they are trying to pull us back, and that has to change,” said Hamilton.
However, in the latest issue of the Business F1 Magazine, Tom Rubython, the founder of the magazine, shed further light on the conflict of interest issue. He criticized the Wolffs and their PR teams for defending the indefensible, stating as per FormulaPassion.it, “The show of hypocrisy put on by Toto and his wife at the beginning of December was simply incredible. The Wolffs were not treated differently by the FIA ​​compared to Marko, who was also investigated by the FIA ​​ethics committee in 2023. And Wolff famously held the incident against Marko. But when he is treated the same way, he starts screaming.”
Tom also ridiculed Susie Wolff’s claim of FIA’s action. “The idea that our history is based on ‘hatred, contempt and prejudice’ towards women is patently ridiculous. We are talking about a simple story of conflict of interest, which arose after informal complaints from the other team principals to the FIA,“ Tom wrote.

Susie Wolff Shifts Focus to “Encouraging” Silver Lining Amid Toto Wolff’s Big FIA Controversy

After Hamilton made his stern statements against the FIA regarding the treatment of Susie Wolff, he was caught in the middle of a rumor suggesting that he gave away his P3 trophy to a fan to prove a point to the FIA.

Did Hamilton leave behind his P3 trophy at the Gala to show his dissatisfaction with the FIA?

Since the prize-giving ceremony was held amidst the Toto and Susie Wolff controversy, claims were circulating that he had generously given away his 2023 championship trophy to a fan.

However, Mercedes swiftly denied these allegations, clarifying that Hamilton did not gift away the trophy but rather left it behind at the FIA prize-giving ceremony in Baku under the care of the officials to have it sent over to the team.

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In the statement denying the trophy claim Mercedes noted, “Immediately after leaving the stage, and as has been done at previous prize-givings, Lewis Hamilton accepted the offer from officials for the trophy to be sent on to the team and therefore left it in their care. We can confirm he did not give the trophy to anyone ‘as a gift’, as has been speculated.”