Police called in

Toto Wolff in a rage: “Go to a psychiatrist!”

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff(Bild: APA/AFP/ANGELA WEISS/Giuseppe CACACE)

Following an anonymous accusation of sabotage against Mercedes, the Formula 1 team has called in the police! "To all the crazy people out there: go to a psychiatrist," said the visibly angry Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Friday. "This kind of online abuse has to stop." According to Wolff, the police are now investigating.

A week and a half ago, an anonymous email was sent by the FIA to accredited journalists and Formula 1 officials. In it, the accusation is made against Wolff as team principal, among others, that there is allegedly "systematic sabotage" with Lewis Hamilton. The record world champion is allegedly being excluded and treated badly. This is said to be to the advantage of team-mate George Russell.

Lewis Hamilton(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"We have called the police!"
Hamilton is leaving Mercedes after this season and moving to Ferrari. The 39-year-old has mostly lost out to Russell this year. There were rumors that Hamilton's teammate was preferred. Hamilton is eighth in the drivers' championship, 14 points behind Russell. In qualifying this season, Hamilton regularly finishes behind Russell.

"That's where the fun ends for me!"
"When we get these kinds of emails, and we get tons of them, it's very upsetting. Especially when someone is talking about death and all these things," Wolff reported. "That's why in this case I gave the instruction to go full force. We have called in the police."

Toto Wolff(Bild: APA/AFP/Andrej ISAKOVIC)

According to Wolff, Mercedes itself is investigating the IP address, among other things. "People can't hide behind their phones or computers and insult teams or drivers in this way," Wolff emphasized. "That's where the fun stops for me and we will pursue this."