Mercedes call police to investigate sabotage allegations

Barcelona, Spain – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team has enlisted the police to investigate the origin of an anonymous email that accuses the team of deliberately sabotaging Lewis Hamilton's car, amid his impending move to Ferrari next year.

The email, sent to the same list of F1 representatives who received leaked messages linked to the Christian Horner sexual misconduct investigation earlier this year, made grave allegations. It claimed to be from a current team member and accused Mercedes of purposefully putting Hamilton in danger at recent events. The message spoke of a "systemic sabotaging" that compromised Hamilton's car, strategy, and mental health, describing the situation as potentially "life-threatening to Lewis."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff emphasized the seriousness with which the team is treating the email.

"It is not from a member of the team; when we are getting these kinds of emails, and we are getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when someone is talking about death and all these things," Wolff commented on Friday.

"On this particular one, I have instructed to go full force with police inquiring it, researching the IP address, researching the phone number, 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 underscored the enduring bond between Mercedes and Hamilton, who has been with the team for 12 years. "Lewis was part of the team for 12 years; we have a friendship, we trust each other, we want to win ... and end this on a high and celebrate the relationship."

When questioned about the email during media day on Thursday, Hamilton revealed he had not seen it. He spoke on the broader topic of social media allegations and fan negativity, saying, "They know that, if you look at the years, we've always been a strong team, we've always worked really hard together. I think it is easy to get emotional. I think we need support, not negativity."

Hamilton emphasized the necessity of internal communication and continuous effort: "Of course there are always things that can be better within a team, and that comes through conversations, through communication, and that's what we're consistently working on. But we're all in the same boat, we're all working hard together and we all want to finish on a high. We owe that to our long-term relationship."

Wolff expressed understanding and respect for Hamilton's decision to join Ferrari, stating, "There seems to be lots of irrationality also because we want to be successful with the most iconic driver the sport has ever had, the privilege that we had to work with Lewis as an incredible driver, a great personality that goes through the ups and downs like any other sportsperson."

"I totally respect the reason for him going to Ferrari, there is no grudge, no bad feeling, the interaction in the team is positive, so every comment from the outside on what is going on in the team is simply wrong."

Ferrari’s stance

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur echoed Wolff's sentiments, condemning any notion of a team intentionally sabotaging a driver.

"How you could imagine a company with 1500 people, working night and day, pushing like hell to bring upgrades that we could kill one of our cars, or damage one of our cars? This is completely irrational, and nobody in the paddock could do something like this," Vasseur stated.

"We are fighting for the championship; each weekend we are trying to score one point more than the other one. How could you imagine that anyone would say 'OK, Lewis, we don't want to score points anymore with him'? This for me is completely irrational and completely out of the scope of the people who are doing my business."

Both Mercedes and Ferrari have dismissed the sabotage allegations as unfounded while underscoring their commitment to their respective drivers and the sport. The police investigation aims to find the source of the email and address the broader issue of online abuse in the sport.

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