Wolff in shaky position? Team boss has been given until early 2024'

What was the situation again? Earlier this week, it was revealed that several team bosses are not happy with Toto Wolff. The team boss allegedly leaks sensitive information from team meetings to his wife Susie, who in turn passes on information she hears at F1 meetings through her role within the F1 Academy. Other teams would not be happy about this.

Mercedes reacted furiously to the FIA's investigation. Susie Wolff, the F1 Academy's managing director, also expressed her anger via social media. Subsequently, Formula 1 also made its voice heard: they were not happy that they were not informed by the FIA that an investigation would be opened.

Who was pushing for an investigation?

On Wednesday night, all teams published a statement saying they had not passed on anything about any leaked information. So it must be coming from another source, but which one? The BBC then wrote that the investigation might well be a result of a personal feud between Wolff and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The latter is said to have been unhappy with recent statements made by the Mercedes team boss.

According to Mail Sport, Wolff has supporters and allies in the matter. "There are those who want to see Wolff plunge, as Icarus did, to the sea. They wish his professional demise. That is because he is seen to have over-reached, to have tried to inveigle himself into every aspect of the sport, to act as its chief manipulator and greatest power. There are others who think he is being unfairly singled out by the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for being a big figure with his own thoughts that run counter to his. This town ain’t big enough for the two of them. And at the end of this process, only one man may be left standing."

The allegations towards Wolff are now being reviewed compliance department of the FIA, After that, the case will either be referred to the ethics commission, or the case will be dismissed and with that, all allegations will be dropped.

Wolff and Ben Sulayem

The feud between Wolff and Ben Sulayem has been going on for some time. Meanwhile, the FIA president is said to be quite fed up with the way the Mercedes team boss keeps presenting himself. "‘He wants to control every b***** thing,’ one senior executive in F1 told Mail Sport. ‘He sticks his finger into every pie. He basically stuck a revolver at Jean Todt’s head and told him that either Michael Masi goes or Lewis Hamilton leaves the sport.’" a Formula 1 executive reported to Mail Sport.

Meanwhile, Wolff is said to be quite friendly with Greg Maffei, the main man at Liberty Media [the owner of Formula 1]. The two are said to be in very good contact and often dine together. Wolff lives on good terms with Liberty, but so how different it seems to be with the FIA. The power struggle between the FIA, FOM and the F1 teams is about to explode anyway.

Future at Mercedes

Mercedes did not win a Grand Prix this year, and last year, the German formation won only one Grand Prix. According to the aforementioned medium, Wolff's future as team boss would not be nearly as certain as before.

"He is a one-third shareholder in the company, but his partners, Daimler and Ineos, are said by sources not to be enamoured, naturally, with the barren spell. One informed observer told Mail Sport that Wolff has been given until the early part of next year to show he can produce a car that will challenge Red Bull."