MELBOURNE.- Lewis Hamilton He criticized the International Automobile Federation and at the same time supported the “bravery” of Susie Wolff for filing a criminal complaint against the governing body in the French courts.
Wolff, married to the head of Mercedes, Toto Wolff, and director of the women’s F1 Academy circuit, announced on Wednesday that she had filed the lawsuit “in relation to statements that were made about me” by the FIA.
The Wolffs were investigated by the FIA last December to determine whether the pair had shared confidential information. Everything was provoked by a publication about an alleged conflict of interest in the magazine BusinessF1.
But the FIA shelved the investigation after just 48 hours, after the other nine teams denied with almost identical statements that they were responsible for having filed the complaint. Susie Wolff filed her lawsuit on March 4.
Hamilton came to Wolff’s defense during a news conference on Thursday at the Albert Park circuit ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. The British star deplored the lack of accountability in F1.
“I am incredibly proud of Susie Wolff,” Hamilton said. “She is very brave, and she promotes very important principles. She is a leader. And in a world where people are often silenced, she stands firm to send a tremendous message.”
“I like to get out of the (F1) sphere and fight from the outside because there is a real lack of accountability here, within this sport, within the FIA,” he added. “These are things that are happening behind closed doors. There is no transparency, it is evident that there is no accountability.”
Hamilton on the FIA president:
Asked if FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem still has his trust, Hamilton replied: “He never did.”
The FIA announced on Wednesday that its ethics commission cleared Ben Sulayem of interference allegations last year. There were two complaints, one for allegedly interfering in the decision of the race stewards to reverse an additional penalty to Fernando Alonso in the Saudi Arabia GP last year, and the other for interfering in the certification of the Las Vegas GP track.
Regarding the competition, Hamilton expressed confidence that his Mercedes team will show more power with its W15 to aspire to podiums and victories this year.
The seven-time world champion has not won a race since the Saudi Arabian GP in 2021. He has been victorious twice in Melbourne, the last in 2015.
Source: AP
