Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has responded harshly to allegations of “sabotage” within the team.
Last week it emerged that an anonymous email had been sent to several members of the F1 paddock accusing the Brackley-based team of misconduct.
The allegations specifically related to the supposedly poor treatment of star driver Lewis Hamilton.
This is not the first time the issue has hit the headlines this year; Hamilton himself alluded to nepotism within the team after the Monaco Grand Prix.
But in response to the latest allegations ahead of this weekend’s race in Barcelona, the Briton denied such claims. “There are always things that can be improved in the team, and that comes through conversations and communication, and we are always working on that,” he said.
“But we are all in the same boat, we work hard together and we want to finish successfully, and that’s thanks to our long-standing relationship.”
Now, his boss has also harshly criticized the allegations, blaming “crazy people” who are trying to destabilize the team. The Austrian also confirmed that the emails were not sent by Mercedes employees, adding that the matter has now been sent to the police.
“Well, it’s not from a team member,” he said. “When you get a lot of emails like that, it makes you uneasy, especially when someone is talking about death and everything else. So in this particular case, I have ordered the police to investigate with all their might. We will be looking at all IP addresses, phone numbers and so on, because this kind of online abuse has to stop. “People cannot hide behind their phones and computers and abuse teams and drivers like this.
I don’t know what the conspiracy theorists and crazy people out there are thinking. “Lewis was part of the team for 12 years. We are friends, we trust each other and we want to end this situation on a good note. We want to celebrate this relationship.
If you don’t believe that, you can believe that we want to win the Constructors’ World Championship and we are committed to winning both cars as part of the Constructors’ World Championship. “So, all you crazy people out there, go see a psychiatrist.”
