While the circus was preparing for the first two free practice sessions of Spanish Grand Prix the world of F1 has been hit by yet another scandal. The Lewis Hamilton case breaks out. A new anonymous email has reported an alleged sabotage of Mercedes towards the future pilot of the Ferrari. The precedent occurred a few months ago, at the beginning of the season, when the chats between Christian Horner and the employee alleged to be the victim of harassment were released. Harsh words from the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff who denied everything!
Hamilton, Mercedes sabotage: what happened
The accusations originated from the email address of a Mercedes employee who sent the material on June 10, as reported by the journalist Daily Mail Jonathan McEvoy. Sent on June 10th and immediately after the Canadian Grand Prix, the email reached many members of the Formula 1 paddock, as well as several world-famous journalists who cover engines. This is the text sent to the F1 paddock reported by formulapassion.com:
“Some of us in the team are unhappy with the systematic sabotage of Lewis and his car, his tire strategy, race tactics and the related repercussions on his mental health. Lewis is cut off and there are some sneaky things happening that people need to know about.
Ask the questions and the truth will come out, you will find everything in the data. With the exception of Bono (Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s race engineer) and those who love Lewis, everyone else is on a dangerous path that could be life-threatening for Lewis, the other drivers and even the public. The strategy of fitting him with cold tires is a death sentence.”
Mercedes sabotage in Hamilton retaliates Wolff for moving to Ferrari
After the anonymous email on Horner-Red Bull caseanother similar communication was delivered from the same address to some journalists, but this time relating to Hamilton and Mercedes: Lewis would have been boycotted by the Brackley team.
As revealed, the sender of the anonymous letter declared himself to be a Mercedes employee, revealing an alleged plan of Toto Wolff to damage the image of Hamilton. The motivation would be a personal resentment of Wolff, hurt by the seven-time world champion’s decision to move to Ferrari.
Hamilton case, Toto Wolff: “People are missing a wheel”
The Mercedes team principal was called into question, directly and indirectly, Toto Wolff, he categorically denied: “No conspiracy – he told Sky Sport F1 during practice for the Spanish GP – We must stop this online abuse. We want to succeed with the most iconic driver the sport has ever had. We had the privilege of working with Lewis who is an incredible driver and a great personality who goes through the ups and downs like any other sportsman. I respect the reasons why he went to Ferrari. There are no hard feelings. The relationship in the team is positive. So any comment from the outside about what is happening in the team is simply wrong.”
