No Toto, that is so not right! (Toto-FIA connection scandal heats up)

Let's not forget Todt, who is married to Yeoh.
Check out his father-in-law's deep Chinese Gov roots.

China owns Pirelli and China owns a chunk of Mercedes

 

Yes, although the conflict of interest within the F1 Championship remains: theoretically "rival" teams that are not independent. But that's a bigger issue that also affects to Red Bull/Alpha Tauri and to some extent Ferrari/Haas (not owned by the same guys but with a direct technical link).

 

The conflict of interest issue could exist in F1 only if it provides an unfair advantage to one party, or distort the running of the championship. I think there are enough provisions in the rules to prevent that.
The problem is that some people never accept success at face value, and look for other explanations.
They question results and try to explain them by some sort of conspiracy.

 

The surprisingly similar Mercedes/Racing Point was... let´s say shady, but there already has been enough talk about that. There also have been driver orders between sister teams, and even without being sisters: some years ago Ocon with the Force India was told to let a Mercedes pass at Monaco: Ocon was under contract with Mercedes, everybody raised eyebrows, but nothing else happened.

It´s also difficult to believe that there is not any kind of information exchange between teams when they´re sharing the same building, like Haas and now Alpha Tauri. Even if FIA has a strict control of the computers, etc... there is always going to be coffee break chat. They can´t share data, but they can talk about what they´re doing.

 

I find everything you describe as perfectly natural, and even healthy. People are human after all, and you cannot stop them talking. As for engineers, they usually like to exchange among themselves, compare work, exchange ideas, to validate their theories, etc ... How do I know? I have 2 in my close family. So no surprise that information could be passed verbally between teams in spite of the FIA trying to prevent it.

 

The problem is that there are teams running with four cars and double budget. Sort of. Against the rules and not fair.

 

It's really too bad that F1 is no longer about the drivers or the cars.

Today, it's all about the designers, team principals, major sponsors and the officials running the show.

 

Are you talking about Red Bull and Alpha Tauri? I don't think there is much benefit for either of them, although Alpha Tauri could be considered as the drivers academy for RB. Their budgets are totally different, their facilities too, and I have never felt AT helping RB, or benefiting from being under their umbrella.
But anyway the FIA allows that, so it's fully legit, I presume.
Which other teams do you have in mind ?

 

Not only Alpha Tauri but also Haas and in the past Racing Point and others. Maybe the advantage is small, but certainly there is some gain. You won´t see an Alpha Tauri fighting a Red Bull driver, they share facilities, costs... Check the archives: back in 2021 everybody said that making that "pink Mercedes" was not possible without having some data. And the Haas is being designed by a (just in theory) separate office at the same building than the Ferrari!

FIA has allowed many things that were... at best in a grey area. I understand their position: they need to fill the grid, so Red Bull funding Minardi and Haas being able to run in a shoestring budget with a Ferrari parts bin car is OKish. But then I don´t understand why there are so many objections to Andretti having a team while Red Bull already has two.

 

Andretti seems to be getting the shaft because the greedy buggers don't want to share the profits with 1 more team. Of course one of the most vocal on the issue has been Mr Toto Wolff.

 

Are you serious ? RB and AT aren't in the same league.
Red Bull disposes of resources Alpha Tauri can only dream of.
Alpha Tauri only gets a portion of the budget Red Bull has.

 

Well, Micheal Andretti was very candid about it, confessing that in their shoes, he would do exactly the same !!
Business is business ...

 

I´m pretty sure you´re not so naive to not know what I´m talking about. I mean when a Red Bull, for wahtever reasons, is behind an Alpha Tauri you won´t see the Alpha Tauri driver putting a fight. No line change, no covering the inside, nope. Some years ago Jaime Alguersuari got publicly spanked by Dr. Marko for not letting Vettel pass immediately in a free practice!!

 

No, I wasn't aware of this. In any case, I don't think an Alpha Tauri could hold a Red Bull for long.
If the AT driver tried it, it would be called obstruction. The cars are vastly different in performance.

 

All other midfielders at least hold them for a corner or two. The Alpha Tauris never try: oh, what a coincidence, both have the same owner!!

 

The financial corruption of F1 is total and irreversible unless...they throw out the spending caps and return to open testing. That is the only way to level the playing field. Yes the rich teams will have an advantage, but that has always been the case...forever...going back to the 1920s and 30s. And still the cream rose to the top. Colin Chapman rose to the top on his genius and tenacity. Ferrari rose to the top on his genius and tenacity. The same with all the teams that have come from behind and made it to the top...or even mid-field. Interesting that no one has commented on the fact that viewership for F1 in the 2023 season was done 8% from 2022. Who is willing to bet that we'll see another drop in 2024?

 

I dont trust Liberty to say the truth - just say things are great but not define great. Viewership has been reported down. No comment in detail from Liberty unless the notes/minutes from the investor calls are made public or leaked. Liberty will sell before they open up the series to rational competitive rules.

 

Max has won 3 in a row, in dominating fashion, and still some you whine about Mercedes???

The best car and best driver are the 800 pound gorilla, but Toto’s corrupt? Well, based on the last 2 years in particular, he needs to work on his “corruptness” game as it ain’t working.

 

LOL! Hilarious and true. The 'hate' of LH still blinds a few to RB's domination as it utterly is. Free press baby lol This forum never fails to fail on some items like Mercedes. Who's Ferrari again??

 

Lots of shady things around the Toto/Hamilton era, but is anyone really surprised. Toto is fully entrenched in the inner workings of F1 and the FIA. Mark my words, he will become the next Bernie Ecclestone. Toto’s goal is to become the F1/FIA supremo and possibly even own F1. He’ll do it by hook or by crook.

 

FIA opens compliance investigation into potential Wolff conflict of interest
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fia-opens-compliance-investigation-into-potential-wolff-conflict-of-interest/10555369/

 

This will be fun until 2024 pre-season testing starts and the Wolff Legal team sends the FIA investigators off with a smile.

 

Next the FIA will bug the Woolfe's bedroom to find out how much information Suzzie passes on to Toto !!!

 

Mercedes fire back at FIA’s ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ regarding Toto Wolff


The FIA initially refused to confirm whether it was Wolff they were looking into, vaguely suggesting it was following “media reports”, but Mercedes have now hit back criticising the way the governing body has handled the affair.

A statement read: “We note the generic statement from the FIA this evening, which responds to unsubstantiated allegations from a single media outlet, and the off-record briefing which has linked it to the team principal of Mercedes-AMG F1.

“The team has received no communication from the FIA Compliance Department on this topic and it was highly surprising to learn of the investigation through a media statement.

“We wholly reject the allegation in the statement and associated media coverage, which wrongly impinges on the integrity and compliance of our team principal.

“As a matter of course, we invite full, prompt, and transparent correspondence from the FIA Compliance Department regarding this investigation and its contents.”


Formula 1 itself, with whom Susie Wolff is employed, also commented suggesting that had been no breach.

It said: “We note the public statement made by the FIA this evening that was not shared with us in advance. We have complete confidence that the allegations are wrong, and we have robust processes and procedures that ensure the segregation of information and responsibilities in the event of any potential conflict of interest.

“We are confident that no member of our team has made any unauthorised disclosure to a team principal and would caution anyone against making imprudent and serious allegations without substance.”

 

Maybe the FIA will investigate that ‘secret’ test tire from a few years ago next.