The Formula 1 He is experiencing one of his most turbulent seasons off the slopes. The scandal at the beginning of the year that had the leader of Red Bull, Christian Horner, in the spotlight due to an accusation by a company employee, seems to have been just the opening of the chaotic 2024 for Máxima, which has now added another worrying chapter. Just like on that occasion, again a anonymous email shakes the divisional structures but this time with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff on the carousel of controversy.
The report carried out by the specialized media Motorsport indicates that a anonymous message reached the mailboxes of the same representatives and journalists linked to F1 that the assumptions were sent weeks ago WhatsApp Horner’s compromising But now the target is Wolff for spearhead a “’systematic sabotage’ of Hamilton’s car, strategy and mental health”as detailed by journalist Jonathan Noble in said portal.
According to what they indicated, the person in charge of spreading these accusations introduced himself as a member of Mercedes and he not only targeted the team leader in particular, but also against the team in general. “He went on to claim that ‘covert’ actions were taking place and feared the team was on a ‘dangerous path’ that could ‘ultimately endanger Lewis’s life’.”highlighted the medium.
The striking thing about the case is that in addition to the general message, there is a rumor that indicates that there was also particular contact with “selected people” to provide other types of information. In the newspaper Brand of Spain point out that the Anonymous message suggests that “shady things are happening” around the 39-year-old runner. The Dutch newspaper Telegraaffor its part, specified that this email was sent the Monday after the Canadian Grand Prixthat is, last June 10. “Mercedes has not been able to trace the origin of the email and has turned to the Police”stated the newspaper.
In it Daily Mail of England specified that the text excludes from the accusation “Bond” –by Peter Bonnington, Hamilton race engineer– and also to “those of us who love Lewis”. Precisely the journalist of this medium, Jonathan Mcevoy, acknowledged that he was also contacted separately: “I (possibly along with others) received a message from WhatsApp separately directly on my phone expressing similar sentiments to those contained in the email. It was also anonymous and the sender did not respond when I responded asking for more information.”
The issue broke out in the last few hours because Formula 1 reactivated its calendar at the Barcelona Grand Prix this weekend and Wolff himself came out to defend himself against the accusations: “We know it did not come from any member of our team, and we receive an incredible number of such emails”.
“It’s disturbing, especially when someone talks about death. and things like that in an email of this type. That’s why I said we have to investigate it thoroughly and call the police.. This type of behavior on the Internet must stop. People sitting behind their phones or computers cannot vilify teams or drivers like this. I don’t know what idiots are out there. Lewis has been part of this team for 12 years, we are friends and we trust each other. To all those lunatics out there, I would say: see a psychiatrist,” said the Austrian who commanded a successful era of Mercedes and will now see how next year Hamilton ends his historic link with this team to dress in the colors of Ferrari.
“In this particular case, I have given instructions to use full force. We have the police investigating. We are investigating the IP address. “We are investigating the phone.”he clarified.
The topic broke out during the last hours, shortly after the 10th date on the calendar in Spain. Until now, George Russell (7th in the Drivers’ Championship) leads his teammate hamilton (he is sixth) not only in the runners’ tournament points, but also in the heads-up of almost all the races: only left behind Lewis when the seven-time champion crossed the finish line of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in sixth place and George did so in seventh; something similar to what happened in Miami when the experienced athlete came sixth and the young star placed eighth.
“We want to be successful with the most emblematic driver this sport has ever had.. We have had the privilege of working with Lewis, an incredible driver and a great personality who goes through ups and downs like any other athlete. I totally respect the reasons why he went to Ferrari. There is no resentment. There are no bad feelings. The interaction we have in the team is positive. So any external comment about what is happening in the team is simply wrong,” Wolff argued, seeking to extinguish the scandal that was formed by this anonymous message.
