Wolff Dismisses FIA Presidency Talks; Delivers Pecking Order for Australia
Mar.11 - Toto Wolff has played down rumours his wife Susie could bid to become the next president of Formula 1's governing body.
Controversy has swirled around current FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for some time, with Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff a clear enemy.
Toto and Susie Wolff, the head of the all-female F1 Academy series, clashed bitterly with Ben Sulayem in 2023, when he launched a short-lived conflict-of-interest probe.
Susie branded the investigation "intimidatory and misogynistic", with Italy's Autosprint magazine believing the probe was a pre-emptive strike by Ben Sulayem as he was aware of Mrs Wolff's presidential ambitions.
The FIA elections will be held in December, and 1996 world champion Damon Hill thinks Susie Wolff would be "perfect" for the job.
However, when asked whether there is any truth to the rumours, Mercedes' Wolff told the ORF program Sport am Sonntag this week: "Not that I know of.
"Susie is an entrepreneur. Someone started this rumour to create a stir."
Toto does admit that he and the FIA president do not get along famously.
"We have our pressure points where we disagree," said the Austrian. "On other things, for example the swearing, we largely agree.
"We are a gentleman's sport and we set an example. The children should not hear our drivers swearing all the time."
Wolff insists, however, that he still gets along with Lewis Hamilton, even though he said the seven time world champion's decision early last year to switch to Ferrari for 2025 caught him by surprise.
"It's not that bad," he said of their new rivalry. "We are very good friends. On a personal level, I wish him all the best, but on the racetrack we want to beat him."
As for the 2025 season, Wolff says it will be "incredibly close" among the top four teams, including Mercedes - although he agrees that there is a clear favourite.
"The balance of power after the tests in Bahrain is that four teams are pretty much on the same level on a fast lap, perhaps with a small advantage for (Lando) Norris," he said.
"In the race simulations, the two McLarens are clearly ahead, with (Max) Verstappen, us and Ferrari just behind."
He says George Russell is ready to charge for a world championship, but is trying to play down expectations for Hamilton's successor, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli.
"We've been with Andrea since he was 11," said Wolff. "Since then he's won everything, every single category, and we've also driven 11,000 kilometres with him in an old Formula 1 car.
"Nevertheless, when you're thrown into the F1 circus as an 18-year-old, you have to be careful not to lose your footing. That's why we're trying to dampen expectations at the beginning."
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