And just like that, upon a sudden, Wolffgate has come to an end. Wolffgate started when an allegation, published by BusinessF1 Magazine, claimed that Toto Wolff and his wife Suzie Wolff had shared confidential information related to Formula One. Mrs Wolff is the managing director of F1 Academy, a female-only single-seater racing championship founded by Formula One. The accusation is that Mrs Wolff shared confidential information with her husband, Toto Wolff, who is the team principal of the Mercedes F1 team.

Right away, a fundamental flaw became evident in the revelation made by BusinessF1: a distinct lack of evidence and an accusation lacking in detail. Ironically, the FIA launched an inquiry without implementing any compliance measures. This suggests that the FIA and BusinessF1 launched a coordinated attack aimed at Toto Wolff, with Suzie Wolff being used as bait. Why?

Wolffgate lacked any logical foundation due to the absence of proof. I believe it was primarily driven by the FIA President’s, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, attempt to assert control over the sport and quell his critics. Recently, Toto Wolff referred to Michael Massi as an “idiot” in an interview discussing the former race director’s potential return. In doing so, Wolff inadvertently labelled the FIA as an “idiot.”

Perhaps Bin Sulyeman perceived Wolff’s comments as somewhat egregious and decided to set a ‘trap’ and initiated a compliance investigation based on a dodgy media report. The issue lies in the ‘trap’ being libellous and causing significant reputational damage. In an extraordinary display of rare unity, the F1 paddock orchestrated a word-for-word response to refute the allegations made against Toto and Suzie Wolff.

Consequently, the FIA backtracked like a bear on a unicycle, and Wolffgate as of today has come to a swift conclusion. I truly cannot fathom any other plausible reason for the occurrence of Wolffgate other than it being motivated by a personal vendetta. It defies logic for Toto Wolff to tarnish the reputation of the Mercedes brand or jeopardize his own standing within the sport.

In instances of impropriety, it is typically a whistleblower who breaks ranks to file a complaint, not a media article with no evidence and no proof, relying solely on mindless gossip.

So, considering all that has transpired this week, the question that inevitably arises is whether the FIA is fit for purpose? The answer is no. It hasn’t been for many years, and Ben Sulayem has laid bare the organization as a listing ship caught in an oceanic tide, aimlessly sailing with no clear direction.