DDopey wrote: ↑06 Dec 2023, 09:35
But it should be easy identifiable enough ? What did Toto say he should not have know…. Curious
This all stems from Ben Sulayem. Liberty Media, Susie Wolff, Toto, and now Mercedes proper will have lawyers on the case for some form of action IF MBS doesn't backtrack. Ben Sulayem went way beyond his remit and is essentially engaging in a gossip errand, leaking unsubstantiated tripe to dogshit media outlets.
What is notable is that original source of the story is of poor repute. This leans to suggest many reputable outlets may have been offered and declined to be the source for the story.
I highly doubt there's anything substantial Toto said that he shouldn't have known, and the stickler is actually very simple. Susie Wolff is head of the Formula 1 Academy. Susie has contact with FIA staff regarding matters related to Academy. If anyone can join a conflict of interest between the academy and F1, I'd be interested to hear that.
I lean on this being a power play by MBS to rattle Liberty, who employ Susie Wolff under the "Formula Motorsport Limited" umbrella part of the company. The reasons for that would be straighforward, Saudi's are in the midst of the biggest sporting investment in history. Shake the tree get the low lying fruit.
The BBC also had a good insight into what's going on behind the curtains.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in February that he was stepping back from direct involvement in F1, a move that came after a series of controversies since he was elected president in December 2021.
These included receiving a "cease and desist" letter from F1's lawyers following his reaction on social media to a story claiming Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had tried to buy the sport for $20bn, and the emergence of a historic website that appeared to suggest he had made misogynistic remarks.
He has sought to clarify the remarks in an interview with the Press Association.
But insiders say Ben Sulayem is as heavily involved in F1 matters as ever, and F1 teams have viewed a series of incidents in recent months as having a direct link to Ben Sulayem.
These include re-investigating Lewis Hamilton crossing the track during the Qatar Grand Prix, and calling Wolff and Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur to the stewards at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi after they swore in a news conference at the previous race in Las Vegas.
A number of sources told BBC Sport at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last month that if Ben Sulayem continued to act in a manner senior figures considered to be detrimental to the sport, F1 owners Liberty Media would lose patience and consider breaking away from the FIA.
This was already considered by F1 last year before relations between the two parties were smoothed over.
that's it it's made up my mind
