"It was a personal attack that crossed a red line”: Mercedes boss hits back on accusations on him and wife, Susie Wolff

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff lambasted the FIA for launching a 'personal attack', as he deemed the false accusations about him and his wife Susie Wolff crossed the line.

Following the conclusion of the 2023 F1 season, the Wolff family was embroiled in a controversy. The FIA launched an investigation after reports of confidential information being passed to an F1 team principal from a member of FOM personnel emerged.

The shock announcement was followed by the rest of the nine F1 teams unanimously denying making any allegations. Following the dramatic turn of events, the F1's governing body dropped the investigation as it stated F1's compliance rules were sufficiently robust.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the accusations against his family unjustified. In an interview with the German publication Bild, he said:

"After ten years as a team boss, I'm already [used to hearing things], but this story was shocking. When I'm caught in the crossfire, that's not a problem for me at all."

"I've developed a thick skin and can take it. But when you go after my family, it's a different level. An absurd accusation was created out of nowhere. It was a personal attack that crossed a red line."

He added:

"[Susie and I] are professional enough to keep our different fields of expertise apart. I don't really see where our work has much overlap with each other."

At the FIA prize-giving ceremony, Wolff mentioned that Mercedes was involved in an 'active legal exchange' with the governing body. In a separate statement, F1 Academy manager Susie Wolff said she was 'deeply insulted' by the accusations. She also promised to follow up on the happenings to discover who instigated the campaign and misled the media.

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton also voiced his support for Susie Wolff, calling the way FIA dealt with the situation 'unacceptable'.

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Mercedes chief reveals the team knew they were heading into 2023 on the backfoot

Mercedes F1 technical director James Allison recently admitted that the team entered the 2023 season opener in Bahrain, knowing they had missed the benchmarks with the W14.

“I think clearly from early on in the year, from winter testing, the first race, it was pretty clear that we had not even come close to matching what we’d hoped for with the car,” he told Sky Sports.

“And that was, you know, no fun for anyone here. But our job is to try and digest where you’re at rather than where you might have hoped you were at.”

Team boss Toto Wolff was ready to bin the zero-pod concept after the Bahrain GP, where both drivers finished 50 seconds behind the race winner Max Verstappen.

Allison added that the team has done its best to correct the course midway through the season while keeping the second spot in the constructor's standings. He hopes to mount a title challenge in 2024.