Wolff defends Ben Sulayem over mass FIA exits

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has asserted FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem can “fire as many people as he wants”.

However, the Austrian highlighted care must be taken to protect the image and reputation of F1 going forward.

The FIA confirmed the sudden exit of F1 race director Niels Wittich prior to the Las Vegas Grand Prix before senior F1 steward Tim Mayer and deputy Formula 2 race director Janette Tan left the organisation before the Qatar event.

It led Mercedes driver George Russell to ask “Who is getting fired next?” as he issued another call for clarity from the FIA.

Wolff has asserted Ben Sulaymen, who has been the FIA president since late-2021 can do as he pleases if he does so in the interest of F1.

“I think he can fire as many people as he wants,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365.

“It’s his organisation, he is the president. That’s not something that anybody has an involvement with.

“Where it becomes important for the drivers and for all of us, how does it make the decision-making process better? Does it make the regulations better? Is the sport improving because of these changes in the organisation, the personnel?

“And the answer to all of this is yes, it’s doing that. This is an internal matter that he has to handle.”

However, Wolff has warned the FIA over how the situation can quickly build a negative reputation for the sport. 

“Obviously, what’s in the news and the potential spillover in terms of negativity and reputation, that is something that is bad for all of us,” he said.

“All of us are the sport and all of the stakeholders, the media, the FIA, the drivers, the teams, all of us.

“Liberty [Media], Stefano [Domenicali] running it, and in times when there is so much polarisation, so much conflict, the rationality needs to win.

“And for me, it doesn’t look that way at the moment.”