Mercedes name police to research nameless ‘sabotage’ e-mail

The message claimed to be from an present workforce member and alleged that Mercedes have deliberately put Hamilton, who is because of be part of Ferrari subsequent 12 months, in hurt’s manner at latest occasions.

It alleged {that a} “systemic sabotaging” of Hamilton’s automobile, technique and psychological well being has put the workforce on a “harmful path” that could possibly be “life threatening to Lewis.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stated the workforce is treating the message very severely.

“It’s not from a member of the workforce; after we are getting these sorts of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it’s upsetting, significantly when somebody is speaking about dying and all these items,” Wolff stated on Friday.

“On this explicit one, I’ve instructed to go full drive with police inquiring it, researching the IP handle, researching the telephone quantity, as a result of on-line abuse in that manner must cease. Folks cannot cover behind their telephones, or their computer systems, and abuse groups or drivers in a manner like this.

“I do not know what among the conspiracy theorists, lunatics, assume on the market. Lewis was a part of the workforce for 12 years; we now have a friendship, we belief one another, we need to win … and finish this on a excessive and rejoice the connection.

“And for those who do not imagine all of that, then you’ll be able to imagine we need to win the constructors world championship, and that’s by making each vehicles win. To all of those mad folks on the market, [see] a shrink.”

Hamilton stated he had not seen the e-mail when requested about it on Thursday throughout media day.

On a wider query about followers on social media alleging foul play, he stated: “They know that, for those who have a look at the years, we have at all times been a robust workforce, we have at all times labored actually laborious collectively. I believe it’s simple to get emotional. I believe we’d like assist, not negativity.

“In fact there are at all times issues that may be higher inside a workforce, and that comes by conversations, by communication, and that is what we’re persistently engaged on. However we’re all in the identical boat, we’re all working laborious collectively and all of us need to end on a excessive. We owe that to our long-term relationship.”

Wolff stated there aren’t any laborious emotions about Hamilton’s upcoming transfer.

“There appears to be a number of irrationality additionally as a result of we need to achieve success with essentially the most iconic driver the game has ever had, the privilege that we needed to work with Lewis as an unimaginable driver, an amazing character that goes by the ups and downs like another sportsperson,” Wolff stated.

“I completely respect the rationale for him going to Ferrari, there isn’t a grudge, no unhealthy feeling, the interplay within the workforce is constructive, so each remark from the surface on what’s going on within the workforce is solely mistaken.”

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, the person who helped lure Hamilton to the workforce subsequent 12 months, stated any suggestion of a workforce deliberately sabotaging any driver needs to be handled with disdain.

“How you might think about an organization with 1500 folks, working night time and day, pushing like hell to deliver upgrades that we may kill one in every of our vehicles, or injury one in every of our vehicles? That is utterly irrational, and no one within the paddock may do one thing like this.

“We’re preventing for the championship; every weekend we are attempting to attain one level greater than the opposite one. How may you think about that anybody would say ‘OK, Lewis, we do not need to rating factors anymore with him’? This for me is totally irrational and utterly out of the scope of the people who find themselves doing my enterprise.”