During the recent Spanish Grand Prix, Toto Wolff, the team boss, made a firm commitment to respond with full force to a message that was allegedly sent by a dissatisfied member of the Mercedes team. The message, titled “a possible death sentence for Lewis”, was addressed to Wolff, F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, as well as other prominent figures in the paddock and fully accredited F1 media. It was sent on June 10, a day after the Canadian Grand Prix, where Hamilton was overtaken by his teammate George Russell on the penultimate lap.
According to news agency PA, a spokesperson for the police stated that Northamptonshire police received a report on June 12 about an email that had been circulated within the Mercedes AMG F1 team. However, no criminal offense was identified, although guidance was given regarding any future emails that the team may receive.
Johnny Herbert, former F1 driver turned commentator, vehemently rejected the idea that Mercedes is intentionally undermining Hamilton and criticized those making such claims. Despite the matter being considered closed for now, it is understood that the Silver Arrows have been encouraged to report any similar correspondence to the police in the future.
The email accused Wolff of being “vindictive” and claimed that the team is doing everything possible to retaliate against Hamilton for his decision to leave Mercedes and go to Ferrari. Wolff firmly denies that the email originates from his own organization and challenges “lunatic conspiracy theorists” to seek professional help if they believe the team is working against Hamilton.
After the race in Spain on Sunday, where Hamilton finally ended his losing streak to Russell by outperforming him and securing his first podium of the season, Wolff reiterated his position. He expressed his complete lack of respect for conspiracy theorists and stated that anyone who doesn’t understand the team’s goal of winning races and championships should find another sport to watch. Wolff also expressed his satisfaction with Hamilton’s performance and acknowledged that it had been a while since the strategy had worked in his favor.
It is worth noting that Hamilton has not won a Grand Prix since his record-breaking 103rd victory in the F1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021. (Additional reporting by GP247 and Reuters)
