Was Wolffs' F1 ethics issue started by call to confidential FIA ethics hotline?

[John S]

Hands up who knew FIA has an 'Ethics and Compliance hotline? 

All that is known though is something or someone triggered an investigation process. This whole strange saga is becoming more mysterious as time goes by.

Below is some paras extracted from a longer piece on TheJudge13.com, titled 'Updated: The Wolf conspiracy', about this unknown to most hotline. As they say if someone accessed the hotline it can never be told! where does that leave us and all this??? 

FIA “anonymous” hotline

Known to few and buried in the articles of the FIA is a paragraph entitled: “FIA ethics and compliance hotline”.

It then states, “The hotline reflects out zero tolerance approach towards misconduct. Anyone can use it for raising legitimate. Reliable and documented concerns of misconduct.”

It concludes: “Please be insured that full confidentiality will be guaranteed throughout the whole process.”

So in reality, any denials of “official complaints” are not worth the paper they were written on.

Yet the spectacular fashion from which a nothing story escalated into a drama where each of the major F1 players find it necessary to comment upon leaves the indelible impression – ‘they all know whats going on.’

Further to unite the teams, particularly Red Bull and Mercedes along with F1 suggests this is the next step in the ongoing war raging between the  FIA and FOM, headed up by Stefano Domenicali who represents the interests of Liberty Media, the commercial rights owners.

Demands for “prompt” action from the FIA in prosecuting and making transparent this matter will no doubt fall on deaf ears.

Extracts from longer piece courtesy the judge13.com, Fri 8th Dec.

[Jericoke]

I think you'll find most organizations over a certain size have an anonymous 'ethics line'.  Probably goes to an answering service that specializes in such things.  Not being members of the FIA, we're not going to know about it, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't one. (Although perhaps not common in Europe?  They are in Canada and the USA)

I do find the political machinations of F1 fascinating.  It's probably the largest scale example of political intrigue with the lowest stakes.  Modern F1 is unlikely to physically injure anyone.  (Sure, in the past there were F1 forces against safety, presumably due to cost/spectacle)  Modern F1 is unlikely to cause people to lose jobs (deadbeat sponsors being the biggest threat here), but there is a tremendous amount of money which we all know makes people do 'crazy' things.

[Alianora La Canta]

The FIA started its ethics line in 2003. It looks like that wasn't used here, since no actual investigation happened and the only source was a fifth-rate article from a magazine written by someone who hadn't been in the F1 paddock for 20 years and has in recent years written extensively in favour of misogyny in motorsport.