Last Friday the bomb exploded at the start of the activity of the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix. Information was leaked that Mercedes received an email that accused the German team of sabotaging Lewis Hamilton’s car and benefit his teammate, George Russell. The team leader, Toto Wolff, made the complaint and after the police investigation made a drastic decision.
After Northamptonshire Police confirmed that no crime had been committed and after that Mercedes report anonymous emails, F1 team hired private investigators to find the source of the emailsaccording to the site specialized in F1, Crash Net.
Wolff expressed his fury at the anonymous messages that have been leaked since initially the issue was known only to members of the team based in Brackley, a town in the county of Northamptonshire, 117 kilometers northwest of London.
In addition to the alleged sabotage in the W15 of hamiltonthe message stated that “was put in danger” to the seven-time world champion and which were allegedly sent by a member of the F1 team itself. The issue was later clarified and Mercedes reported that it was someone outside.
The statement suggested that Mercedes was favoring his teammate Russell because Hamilton will be passed to Ferrari next year.
Wolff has clarified that the emails were not sent by a Mercedes employee. He criticized the person who sent the email, calling him a “conspiracy theorist” and a “lunatic.”
The German team’s top official revealed: “When we get these kinds of emails, and we get tons of them, it’s disturbing, especially when someone talks about death and all these things.”
Last week in Barcelona, Toto made it clear that he would not let this matter go. “I have given instructions for the police to make all the necessary enquiries, to investigate the IP address, to investigate the telephone number, because online abuse in this way must end,” he said.
“People can’t hide behind their phones or their computers and abuse equipment or drivers like this,” he added.
Mercedes was the first to report the problem to the police, who issued a statement: “On June 12, Northamptonshire Police received a report about an email that had been circulating within the Mercedes AMG F1 team,” began the police force’s press release.
“No criminal offence was found to have been committed. However, advice was given regarding any additional emails the team may receive,” it was reported.
Now, through the use of private investigators, Mercedes aims to address the problem. It should be remembered that this fact adds to the scandal in Red Bull also before a race and it was in the framework of the opening of the season run in Bahrain. It was after the complaint for alleged inappropriate and coercive behavior by the team leader, Christian Horner, with an employee of the team. In the internal investigation ordered by the energy drink company, acquitted Horner.
However, before the engines were started in the Sakhir International Circuitall accredited journalists at the racetrack and the other team owners received an anonymous email that leaked messages from WhatsApp that Horner would have sent to the complainant.
Hamilton comes from being third in Spain and Russel He finished fourth after being the protagonist with an anthology start in which he jumped from fourth place to the lead upon reaching the first corner. Both will compete this weekend in the Austrian Grand Prixthe eleventh date of the championship.
