The FIA’s new interim chief has rejected claims she is going to favour her former employer Mercedes within the function.
Shaila-Ann Rao was appointed to F1’s governing physique as interim secretary common for motorsport in June by the FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem, and the announcement introduced questions from the F1 paddock, after Rao had spent a number of years working as common counsel for Mercedes and later particular advisor for crew principal Toto Wolff.
Wolff’s counterpart at Ferarri, Mattia Binotto, known as on the FIA to show Rao could be an neutral determine on the prime of the game.
“On the concern of Shaila-Ann, yes, certainly, it’s a concern,” Binotto stated on the time. “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 on that. It’s down to them to make sure there will be no conflicts of interest at all, to behave properly. And it’s down to the president to ensure it. I’ve got the trust they will do it.
“As Ferrari, it’s a concern. I’m pretty sure that through the behaviours, through the decisions, they will prove it’s a wrong concern.”
Speaking to Corriere della Sera in Italy, Rao dismissed these considerations and stated she simply needs to get on with the job.
“The world of F1 is like that, you go from one team to another. It is full of exes of something, even [F1 president] Stefano Domenicali is ex-Ferrari. But I don’t worry about certain rumours, I move on and continue to do what I have always done: work.”
Asked how the FIA would sort out the continuing row round porpoising in F1, Rao added: “At the moment it is only a proposal and has not yet been finalised,” she stated. “And in any case, we work for the safety of the drivers. Always. What would happen if we did not intervene when safety is at stake?’”
