FIA interim secretary general for motorsport Shaila-Ann Rao has released a statement following concerns expressed by Scuderia Ferrari and other F1 teams regarding the ex-Mercedes advisor’s new very important job within the FIA. Shaila-Ann Rao was recently named as general secretary to autosport and strongly denies any accusations regarding preferential treatment towards Mercedes.
Scuderia Ferrari are one of the sides that expressed doubts about the appointment after she previously worked as an advisor to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. At the same time, Shaila-Ann Rao feels that there is no conflict of interest in her taking on new responsibilities for the FIA, explaining that many of her colleagues have worked for teams in the past – including for the Italian side.
“Before I worked for Mercedes, I was director of legal affairs at the FIA. That’s how the world of F1 works, you go from one team to another. It’s full of ex-employees, even Stefano Domenicali worked at Ferrari. I’m not worried about certain rumours, I’ll move on and keep doing what I’ve always done – work,” she said, as reported by Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Her statements come after Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto openly addressed this topic and said he was ‘concerned’ by the appointment of Shaila-Ann Rao, especially given the current circumstances relating to the proposed regulation changes for next season:
“Certainly, it’s a concern. She’s a great person, she’s got a lot of experience. She will certainly be capable of doing the job, I’m pretty sure of that. It’s a concern, but only a concern. I think it’s down to them to make sure that there will be no conflicts of interest at all, to [do things] properly, and it’s down to the president to ensure it, and they will do it. As Ferrari it’s a concern, but I am sure through the behaviour, through the decisions, they will prove it’s a wrong concern.” – Mattia Binotto said a few weeks ago.
The Maranello team fears come after recent events that suggest Mercedes and other teams are pushing for the FIA to introduce some changes for next season, officially with the purpose of reducing porpoising for safety reasons. But it’s worth pointing out that the bouncing phenomenon is affecting Mercedes’ performance the most and such changes made by the FIA would most likely allow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull in the 2023 Formula 1 season.
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As things stand, the FIA wants to continue to the introduction of the new regulations for next year, but Scuderia Ferrari are taking into consideration the possibility of protesting such a decision as they believe the safety concerns will already be addressed with the introduction of Technical Directive TD039 starting with the Belgian Grand Prix.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has also hit out at FIA’s plans, prompting his Mercedes counterpart, Toto Wolff, to call him ‘bored’, in what is just the latest political battle between Formula 1’s top teams.
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