Toto Wolff speaks on the expectation from the new commission as he feels FIA shared a strong statement, with Mohammed Ben Sulayem adding more.
Having spoken in-depth about why he dropped the appeal and the state of mind Lewis Hamilton is in, Mercedes’ Wolff turned his attention towards the commission which will look into what changes can be made for the future so that there is no repeat.
The commission is to feature team from FIA, F1 along with teams and drivers, but no more detail has been set out as yet. Although with Christmas break on, it is more likely that things will be more clear only in the New Year.
On the side of Wolff, he is not after the resignation of race director it seems like, but he is looking at the larger picture. He feels the FIA statement was a strong one and robust while understanding that ‘full admission’ was never on the cards as they didn’t expect it.
Expectation from commission set-up –
Wolff: “I expect the commission to not only come up with words but with actions, and we will hold them accountable for actions, as we cannot continue in a sport that is meant to be sport followed by entertainment and not the other way around where we are held ransom by ad hoc decisions in any field – be it technical or sporting. Therefore there needs to be clear measures in place before the start of the season so every driver, every team, and the fans, understand what’s on and what is not on.”
Strong statement from FIA –
Wolff: “I think it is very difficult in such a situation to compromise your legal position. And I think for the FIA it wasn’t clear if we would go all the way with the appeal, and therefore you cannot expect any admission. I think they have taken the right step. The president has convinced the World Motor Sport Council to set this commission in place, to look at the incidents of the Abu Dhabi race, and to avoid any such situations going forward. All of us welcome that decision. I don’t think it was easy. The statement of the FIA, when you understand the nature of the governing body, is a strong and robust one. Obviously as a racer you would wish full admission, but that is not possible at that stage. So, I think we have taken a stop in the right direction. It is a modest step, considering the magnitude of the failures on Sunday night, but better a modest step than not.”
Backroom deals, transparency –
Wolff: “I think in a day and age of transparency such decisions cannot be made any more in backroom deals. And why I am optimistic is that most stakeholders in the sport will share my frustration on the decisions that have been made all throughout the year. Everyone who is a racer, you guys, us, knows what happened. So nevertheless I have confidence because we will all be pulling on the same rope and in same direction. The teams, and I have had feedback from the teams and from the drivers and I have assurances from the FIA’s Peter Bayer and Stefano Domenicali that in the next weeks and months we will close the gaps that have opened up more and more over the last few years.”
Race director change will do or what –
Wolff: “It’s not only a decision to change the race director, the whole system of decision-making needs to be improved. As I said before, I think the race director is certainly under big pressure and some of that is due to our own faults. I would have wished for more consistent decision making that would have avoided many of the controversies throughout the year but the last one was just a decision that had the biggest impact. From a sporting perspective it had a catastrophic impact, because it decided the world championship. You can say all season went back and forth and we were on the receiving end sometimes and sometimes we were more lucky, but I have confidence that all of us together, the teams, the drivers and the FIA and the sport, can revamp the way decisions are being made and make the sport stronger. I think these situations as they are is also an opportunity to better the sport.”
While Wolff shared his feelings, outgoing FIA President Jean Todt echoed his worry and set-up a commission before leaving his post. At the same time, the new leader Sulayem has agreed to continue on and look at every aspect of what happened and how it can be bettered. He noted that there is no instant solution but there will be changes.
“We will look into the rules and we are sure that, if any situation like this occurs in the future, we will have an instant solution for it,” said Sulayem. “Or we avoid it even. There are so many areas that we can improve. We cannot just sit and say we are good. No, it’s not enough in a sport as heavy, I would say, and as important as F1. Why do we jump? We’ll have to actually look into the matter.
“But I definitely will not just jump to a conclusion on decisions without going back to my team. If you talk to me about the credibility of the FIA, yes, we lie on good structures, and with good teams. But there is always a place for improvement. We just have to look where can we improve. One thing is that I will devote myself, and I am not going to have any other job except being the President of the FIA.
“I stepped down from all of my other responsibilities. I am not going to do anything else. And I’m not going to be a burden on the FIA. I will concentrate with passion, with the right team, and I have a good team, and we are asking for even a better team. So this is why the FIA is credible,” summed Sulayem.
Here’s Max Verstappen, Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton and if he continues on
Here’s Toto Wolff on appeal drop and more
Here’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Lewis Hamilton’s Gala miss