Toto Wolff has confirmed that Mercedes has got the police involved following a bizarre email sent by an anonymous person to F1 journalists after the Canadian Grand Prix, much like the Google Drive file received during the case involving Christian Horner earlier this year.
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in FP3 in Montreal, with a gap of almost 0.4s, and seemed ready to compete for pole position.
However, he struggled to get the same level of grip from the tires during qualifying, resulting in him only achieving 7th place while George Russell secured pole position instead.
The driver of car number 63 now has a qualifying record of 8-1 in Grand Prix races.
On Sunday, Russell overtook Hamilton three laps before the end of the race to secure the 3rd position and claim the last spot on the podium. This resulted in a barrage of criticism directed towards Russell and Mercedes on various social media platforms, with many questioning their qualifying and race strategies.
Pit Debrief has seen the email sent and you can view it in full below:
Subject: A potential death warrant for Lewis
Some of us in the team are unhappy about the systematic sabotaging of Lewis, his car, his tyre strategy, his race strategy, his mental health and the unprofessional way Toto, lover boy George and others are mistreating him.
Toto is vindictive and is like a scorned wife no longer speaking with Lewis but is doing everything possible to get back at him. Lewis is excluded and some underhanded things are going on that people need to be aware of.
Ask the questions and the truth will out, it is all in the data and is recorded. With the exception of Bono and those of us who love Lewis others are on a dangerous course that could ultimately be life-threatening to Lewis, other drivers, [and] even the public.
Using a cold tyre strategy is extremely dangerous. Toto and George, be warned and act responsibly.
Some of us do not agree with your unfair actions and unprofessional behavior towards Lewis for your own benefit.
At the team bosses press conference during the Spanish Grand Prix, Toto Wolff stated that the email did not originate from a Mercedes staff member.
He mentioned that they have contacted the authorities because of the content of the email.
“It’s not from a member of the team.
“When we are getting these kinds of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when there is somebody talking about death and all these things.
“On this particular one, I have instructed to go on full force. We have the police inquiring [about] 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.”
Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 and has won 82 races, six Drivers’ Championships, and eight Constructors’ Championships.
Wolff strongly called out the sabotage claims, saying these particular individuals are “mad”.
“I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there.
“Lewis has been part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.
“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 both cars win. So, to all of these mad people out there, take a shrink.”
The individual from Austria mentioned that he is open to discussing matters in person, but Mercedes will not accept anonymous emails or harassment.
People will always be there typing away on their laptops in their bedroom with the device resting on their chest.” “If individuals feel the urge to mistreat and assault while concealing their identity on a fictitious Instagram account or any other platform, that is unacceptable.
I believe in being transparent and facing criticism openly for a healthy discussion. It is important to be genuine and not hide behind anonymity.”
“If emails are used to send messages or telephone numbers are utilized, the joking will cease for me and we will take action, regardless of the outcome. However, there are boundaries that need to be respected.”
Leave a Reply