Mercedes has revealed that a police investigation is ongoing to discover who sent out an anonymous email claiming the Formula 1 side is sabotaging Lewis Hamilton.
The email was addressed to the same F1 personnel and accredited media reps who received WhatsApp messages alleged to be from Christian Horner back in March.
Hamilton’s comment earlier this month that he doesn’t anticipate beating team-mate George Russell in qualifying again this term appears to have instigated the email.
The Briton showed encouraging pace across practice in both Monaco and Canada, but he was unable to replicate that when it mattered and ended up behind Russell.
An individual alleging to be involved in the Mercedes operation claimed the German outfit was adopting “underhand” tactics which could “be life-threatening to Lewis”.
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has denied that the suggestion has truth to it and was adamant that the messaging source had not emanated from an employee.
“So it’s not from a member of the team,” he clarified. “When we are getting these kind of emails and we’re getting tonnes of them, it is upsetting.
“Particularly when somebody is talking about death and all these things.”
Wolff has stated that Mercedes is treating the allegations to the most serious extent with a call to the police to ensure the individual responsible is held accountable.
“So on this particular one, I have instructed to go in full force, we have the police inquiring it, we’re researching the IP address, we are researching the phone all of that.
“Because online abuse in that way needs to stop. People can’t hide behind their phones or their computers and abuse teams or drivers in a way like this.”
Wolff also quashed the notion that Mercedes would harbour intentions to compromise one driver’s prospects and hinder the team’s Constructors’ Championship bid.
“I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there,” he continued.
“Lewis is a part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We wanna end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.
“And if you don’t believe all of that, then you can believe that we want to win the Constructors’ World Championship and
part of the Constructors’ World Championship is making those cars win. So to all of these mad people out there, take a shrink.
The Austrian branded those who come up with such unthinkable claims behind other identities as “cowards” who should be prepared to face-up to their suggestions.
“There were always those people, you have the laptop on the chest in the bedroom and just starting away,” he expressed.
“If people feel like they’re abusing, want to abuse and hit out and hide and hide behind a made up Instagram account or anything else that for me is, you know, come up, say who you are, and we’ll take the criticism and discuss but don’t hide.
“There seems to be lots of irrationality, because we want to be successful, we want to be successful with the most iconic driver the sport has ever had.
“It’s the privilege that we have to work with, Lewis, as an incredible driver, great personality that goes through the ups and downs like any other sports person.
“I totally respect, the reasons for you going to Ferrari there is no grudge. There is no bad feeling.
“The interaction we have in the team is positive, and so every comment from the outside of what is going on in the team is just simply wrong. But there’s always a limit.
“I mean, if emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me the joking stops and we will pursue it, whether it is successful or not.
“But there are limits to certain things, and all that abuse is not only something that happens to us, to the team, to the people, it happens badly to Lewis and to George and therefore, you know, people should, and you see Max [Verstappen] speaking out about it and Kelly [Piquet]. People that abuse are cowards because they hide.
“So whatever’s going on out there with social media, with all the good things that it provides and all those people that have been given a platform, that’s just the negative that comes with it, I have no feelings to someone that abuses for the reasons I just said before.
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