Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, has avoided accusations of a conflict of interest, and now Lewis Hamilton has stepped in to defend his wife and demand changes at the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

Lewis Hamilton defends Susie Wolff: “There are certain people in the FIA ​​management who are trying to drag us back”

The British driver believes that the Formula 1 governing body treated Suzy Wolff “unacceptably”.

Third overall this season, Hamilton made the comments ahead of the FIA ​​awards gala in Azerbaijan.

“It’s a really disappointing week when the governing body of our sport tries to question the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders our sport has ever had. No questions, no evidence. And then just apologize at the end, which is unacceptable.

There is a constant struggle to really improve diversity and inclusion in the industry, but it seems that there are certain people in the leadership of the FIA ​​who, every time we try to take a step forward, try to pull us back, and that has to change.” – Lewis Hamiltonseven-time world champion.

Susie Wolff leads the F1 Academy Women’s Championship, which includes all F1 teams, and reports directly to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

She said she had received online abuse after the FIA ​​announced it was investigating media allegations about the passing of confidential information between a team principal and an F1 employee.

The governing body backed down on Thursday after the Wolff family was publicly implicated and after Mercedes’ rivals denied they had filed any complaints against any of them.

Toto Wolff, in a statement released via Mercedes, said a legal exchange was ongoing with the FIA.

“We expect full transparency about what happened and why, and we expressly reserve all legal rights” – Toto Wolff.

The episode has been interpreted as part of a larger power struggle between the FIA, led by Emirati Mohammed Ben Sulaiman, and Formula One Management (FOM), owned by Liberty Media, and the teams, Reuters writes.