Toto Wolff supports FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “He’s made strong decisions and been right in many cases”
Amid growing controversy surrounding the President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Mercedes Formula 1 Team Principal Toto Wolff has publicly come to his defense, emphasizing the importance of authoritative leadership and appropriate communication standards between drivers and their teams. In a recent interview, the Austrian-German executive acknowledged, “There’s no denying that he governs with an iron fist. He does not allow anyone to tell him what to do. This can have its advantages.”
Wolff highlighted one of Ben Sulayem’s key policies regarding driver language on team radio. “I think his stance on swearing is correct,” Wolff said. “Many drivers who yell on the radio don’t have English as their first language. If a French or Italian driver says ‘go f*** yourself’ over the radio and believes that’s normal, it’s probably because they’ve heard it said like that since their karting days. But if you translate it literally into their native language, it can be really shocking,” he added.
The Mercedes Team Principal stressed the necessity of guiding drivers toward more respectful and professional radio communication: “I think the guys need to learn not to insult others over the radio. That engineer on the other end has a family at home who is very proud that their father or husband works with a Formula 1 driver. If the driver lashes out at them like that, it’s not acceptable—and unfortunately, this already happens in junior categories.”
Wolff also drew on his personal experience as a father: “Kids aged eight, nine, and ten talk like professionals these days. Drivers are obviously their role models, and I think it’s positive that the FIA President is taking a strong stance on this issue.”
While acknowledging the extreme pressures drivers face during a race, Toto Wolff underlined the need to strike a balance between understanding driver stress and enforcing respectful behavior: “You can debate where to draw the line between swearing and insults. During a race, we are also a dumping ground for drivers’ frustrations. They’re going at 300 kilometers per hour, wheel-to-wheel, physically and mentally pushed to the limit—and then we tell them to be polite. But that’s not the point,” he concluded.
This topic continues to spark debate across the sport, especially as the FIA prepares for its presidential elections at the end of the year. The question remains: will Mohammed Ben Sulayem retain his role as FIA President?
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