The Mercedes team faced an unwelcome problem during the Canadian GP regarding an email that claimed the Silver Arrows were “sabotaging” Lewis Hamilton’s car. These reports have been quite regular in the past two months as the Briton will be leaving the Brackley outfit for Ferrari in 2025. However, this email was quite a serious matter as Toto Wolff labeled it an attempt to “vilify” their team and driver. The Mercedes boss also called for a police investigation to strictly punish the perpetrators of this email.
However, as per the latest update by The Independent, Mercedes have received a response from the Northamptonshire police that “no criminal offenses were found to have been committed. However, advice was given regarding any further emails the team may receive.”
The email referred to Wolff having “vindictive” behavior towards the outgoing Hamilton despite the duo having a great personal and professional bond. Besides that, it also claimed that Mercedes are deliberately “sabotaging” the seven-time champion’s car and strategy which may have led to a “life-threatening” event for Hamilton.
“That is disturbing, especially when someone talks about death and things like that in such an email. That is why I said that we must investigate this fully & call the police. Online behaviour like this must stop.” – Toto Wolff.
Scary situation for Mercedes. https://t.co/YDP1OuffXs pic.twitter.com/yI3unZTYHP
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) June 21, 2024
Wolff rubbished the contents of this email and also cited that it is not coming from any of the team’s members. The Austrian had asked the police to go “full force” about the investigation and track down the IP address of the senders of this email.
However, with the Northamptonshire police not finding any trace of criminal wrongdoing, Mercedes and Wolff may have to forget this saga and focus on the rest of this F1 season.
Currently, the Brackley outfit has got some newfound pace in the past three weekends and Hamilton also got his first podium of 2024 in Spain. Thus, the reports of Mercedes sabotaging the 39-year-old may not be true after all.
How are Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes handling their farewell season?
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Mercedes and Toto Wolff that Lewis Hamilton will leave the team after the 2024 season. Regardless, the Mercedes boss seems to have made peace with reality and is doing his best to give Hamilton a good farewell.
While the Silver Arrows started on a poor note with their overhauled W15 this year, they have started to find their feet again in recent weeks. With recent upgrades that included a new spec front wing in Monaco and Canada, Mercedes are back in the mix for podiums and possibly also wins.
It may be a multitude of factors, including the deteriorating form of Red Bull and Ferrari alongside McLaren’s rise, that have helped both George Russell and Hamilton to get in the mix for podiums again. Both drivers got their first taste of the champagne in Canada and Spain respectively.
Moving ahead, with more traditional circuits coming up, Hamilton may want to make one last push to get one more race win with his beloved Mercedes outfit in his final year with the team.
