Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has said police are involved in finding the source of emails accusing them of sabotaging Lewis Hamilton.
The Austrian executive was responding to the media after permanently FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalists were sent a series of anonymous emails accusing the team of ‘systematic sabotaging’ Hamilton’s car.
Motorsport.com claims that the email said there were ‘underhand’ actions taken and that the team was on a path that could ‘ultimately be life-threatening to Lewis’.
The outlet also claims that the emails were sent to the same list of journalists who earlier this year received WhatsApp screenshots which led to a Red Bull investigation into team principal Christian Horner over inappropriate behaviour.
Mercedes have dismissed the idea that the emails have any element of truth to them, and that it could have come from a team member.
Responding to the news at the Spanish Grand Prix, Wolff said: “It’s not from a member of the team. When we are getting these kinds of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when there is somebody talking about death and all these things.
“On this particular one, I have instructed to go on full force. We have the police inquiring it. We’re researching the IP address. We are researching the phone. All of that 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.”
Hamilton is leaving the team at the end of the season for Ferrari and Wolff rubbished the idea that could lead to favouritism.
“I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there,” he said. “Lewis has been part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.
“If you don’t believe all of that, then you can believe that we want to win the constructors’ world championship. And part of the constructors’ world championship is making both cars win. So, to all of these mad people out there, take a shrink.
“There will always be people that have the laptop on their chest in their bedroom and just typing away.
“If people feel like they want to abuse and hit out and hide behind a made-up Instagram account, or anything else that, for me is… come up, say who you are, and we’ll take the criticism and discuss. But don’t hide.
“If emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me the joking stops, and we will pursue it, whether that is successful or not.
“But there are limits to certain things.”