The lingering questions that remain from the unnecessary FIA/Wolff saga

But the shockwaves from the FIA’s decision to declare that it was looking into a potential conflict of interest over the passing of confidential information between the Wolffs are going to stick around for a while.

There remains a bitter aftertaste to all that has happened because no parties have come out of the events of the week looking good.

The Wolffs, Mercedes and FOM have had their reputations sullied by the allegations, the media has been caught up in a misinformation fog of war, and the FIA’s actions have led to it being on the receiving end of heavy criticism.

The events of the week were entirely avoidable, as the whole thing could have been conducted in private and settled without the need for anyone in the outside world to even know about it.

But it’s the fact that matters went so public, and the disparity between the FIA’s view of there being team complaints and all of Mercedes’ rivals insisting that is not the case, that has left some lingering questions about the whole affair.

Here we dig down into the key issues that still stand out.

What prompted the probe in the first place?

One of the most confusing aspects of the whole case remains the suggestions of team complaints about the confidential information being passed on to Toto Wolff.

While FIA sources were adamant that some F1 team principals were in contact over the situation – and this information appeared to have been briefed to many media outlets – the nine team statements from Mercedes’ rivals suggest that was not the case.

This is the biggest disconnect of the whole saga.

There is obviously a world of difference between a team lodging an official formal complaint over the behaviour of a rival, and a boss having a quiet moan during paddock chatter. But the latter is not normally grounds to go big on investigations.

So what conversations really took place and with whom?

And if there were no formal complaints about the situation, was a single news story in a magazine – even if it prompted a few media inquiries – enough to justify going so big on the probe?

Ultimately, it is the FIA’s duty to ensure that regulations are upheld – it even talked about integrity and fairness in its statement announcing the inquiry was over.

But equally, there is a world of difference between going through due process to look at something in private to confirm…