Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed Red Bull boss Christian Horner was highly reluctant to sign a statement voicing support for the Wolff family amid an FIA investigation. The FIA launched an inquiry last year after suggestions over a conflict of interest, with Toto's wife Susie heading the all-female F1 Academy. It was claimed she could be privy to classified F1 information obtained by Toto through meetings with other team bosses and other high level figures. The FIA dropped the investigation shortly after the nine other F1 teams released a joint statement - however Wolff has stated Horner was initially against putting his name against the release. “I can take lots of shit,” Wolff told The Guardian . “I’m used to it. But if your wife is being dragged into a conflict she has nothing to do with, and her reputation is immaculate, that’s where the fun stops. “But the response was great. I didn’t make a single phone call to any team. Fred took it into his hands and said: ‘This is just so unfair. “From Guenther Steiner [former Haas team principal] to James Vowles [Williams team boss], everybody jumped on to this. They were all ready, but for Christian, to sign a document in our support. “As far as I understand it he said: ‘I’m having my own Sky interview and I’m going to say I’m not part of it. I’m not signing the document.’ “The other nine teams said: ‘Fine.’ But obviously he was advised that wouldn’t look great and he should be part of the statement.”
Horner asserted to Sky Sports News at the time that Red Bull had no part in the complaint made against the Wolff family. While Red Bull was part of the joint statement, Wolff questioned Horner's true beliefs by stating people can't “rely on what he says”. “In the second iteration, he tried to get the word ‘official’ in the statement,” Wolff said. “He wanted a note to say that no one [among the team principals] officially complained to the FIA. The other teams said: ‘Fine. We do our declaration and you do your own.’ At the end, he signed it. “I don’t think you can rely on what he says. I think [Susie] was collateral damage and lots of it was out of disrespect for her achievements as a female racing driver and as a contributor to change. “It was also trying to cause shit to me by disrespecting my wife, diminishing the painful journey she went through to achieve what she did in and outside the car.”
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