Last Updated on June 21 2024, 7:48 am

Hamilton ‘sabotaged’ by Mercedes, claims anonymous email sent to F1 staff. In a dramatic turn of events, an anonymous email has surfaced claiming that seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is being sabotaged by his own team, Mercedes.

The letter, allegedly written by a disgruntled Mercedes employee, suggests that Hamilton is being mistreated in his final season with the Silver Arrows as he prepares to join Ferrari next year. The sensational claim has sent shockwaves through the F1 community, prompting Hamilton to call for “support, not negativity”.

 

 

The anonymous letter: Content and recipients

The controversial letter was sent to a number of key figures in the F1 world, including Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Members of the media were also included in the list of recipients.

This is not the first time such a list has been used; it mirrors the one used to leak messages allegedly exchanged between Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner and a complainant before the season-opening race in Bahrain.

The emergence of this email has fuelled rampant speculation on social media, with many fans echoing the claims of foul play against Hamilton. The timing of the claims, just before the Spanish Grand Prix, has added to the frenzy. Fans are divided, with some expressing outrage and others remaining sceptical.

 

 

 

Hamilton’s reacts

When asked about the email and its allegations, Hamilton, who has not seen the email himself, stressed the need for unity and support within the team.

He acknowledged the emotional nature of the situation, but urged fans and the F1 community to focus on the positive.

“You know, if you look back over the years, we have been a strong team and we have worked hard together,” Hamilton said.

“It’s easy to get emotional. For example, in the last race I only commented on my performance. We need support, not negativity.”

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Team dynamics: Hamilton versus Russell

Hamilton’s performance this season has seen him out-qualified by his younger team-mate George Russell in eight out of nine races. Hamilton missed out on a podium finish in Montreal when Russell overtook him on the penultimate lap, leading to a wave of online abuse directed at Russell.

Despite trailing Russell by 14 points in the standings, Hamilton was quick to defend his teammate.

“I wasn’t actually aware that George was experiencing any negativity,” said Hamilton.

“George has done nothing but his best every weekend and has delivered for the team, so there is nothing to find fault with him at all.”

 

 

Montreal Grand Prix: a turning point

Russell’s performance in Montreal, where he secured Mercedes’ first pole position of the season, was a significant highlight. Hamilton, who started seventh on the grid, was in for a tough race. Russell, 26, has acknowledged the negativity but remains focused on his performance.

“I have a team that looks after my social media. I don’t look at Instagram or Twitter to be honest,” explained Russell.

“The comments are not something I have seen. I have heard about it and it’s never nice to hear, but that’s the world we live in at the moment and unfortunately any person in the public eye has to deal with it.”

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Social media and public perception

Russell’s comments highlight the double-edged sword that is social media. While it can provide entertainment and updates, it can also expose public figures to significant negativity.

“Social media is a double-edged sword. You see funny things and it keeps you up to date, but on the flip side everyone in the spotlight gets negativity,” said Russell, reflecting on the wider implications for athletes and public figures alike.

Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes at the end of the season to join Ferrari has been a major story in the F1 world. The anonymous email’s allegations of sabotage add a controversial layer to his farewell campaign. Hamilton has spent much of this season in Russell’s shadow, leading to rumours that the younger driver is favoured within the team.

In response to the swirling rumours and allegations, Hamilton has reiterated the importance of teamwork and finishing the season on a high.

“We’re all in this together, we’re all working hard and we want to end the year on a high note. We owe that to our long-term relationship,” said Hamilton, referring to his long association with Mercedes.

 

 

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Hypocrite Hamilton stokes rumours that Mercedes nobbled him

Hamilton is no stranger to the media spotlight. This season, however, he has offered a number of explanations for his underwhelming performances. At the start of the campaign, Hamilton positioned himself as a driver willing to make bold set-up changes in every practice session in an attempt to find the elusive ‘silver bullet’ that would stabilise Mercedes’ performance.

This experimental approach, while valiant, has not always produced the desired results.

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Wolff’s exasperation

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has shown signs of frustration with Hamilton’s approach. Speaking to the media after the Chinese Grand Prix, Wolff was candid.

“I think where Lewis’ car was today was certainly far, far away from the optimum set-up,” said Wolff.

“It’s just driving on the razor’s edge. So what is it?”

In several post-race interviews, Wolff made it clear that Hamilton had taken the set-up decisions into his own hands. He noted that this strategy was “a step too far” and admitted that “we made too many extreme changes after the sprint, which made the most important part of the weekend much more difficult”.

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Hamilton’s attitude questioned

Wolff also took a subtle jab at Hamilton’s attitude after a poor performance.

“Lewis is in a surprisingly good mood. I don’t know if it’s the knowledge that he’s going somewhere else next year. But it’s not like him at all,” said Wolff, referring to Hamilton’s unusually upbeat post-race demeanour.

Mercedes technical director James Allison confirmed that Hamilton’s set-up decisions were his alone. However, he was diplomatic in suggesting that the team would take more control of these decisions in the future.

“I think we [as a team] would be a bit more rounded and say that we should have been more encouraging of him to have a programme that was a bit more like George’s,” said Allison.

“That’s our mistake and, frankly, we should be making a car that is not so tricky that the drivers are making very uncharacteristic mistakes.”

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Hamilton shifts blame

Hamilton’s narrative changed in Monaco. Instead of blaming his struggles on his experimental set-up, he suggested that the team might be favouring his team-mate George Russell. In a cryptic interview, Hamilton claimed that he expected Russell to continue to out-qualify him for the rest of the season.

Asked if Monaco could mark a turning point in Mercedes’ performance this season, Hamilton replied, “I think from a team perspective, yes.”

This statement suggested that while the team may be improving, Hamilton himself may not be seeing the same benefit.

 

 

 

 

Hamilton Fueling conspiracy theories

Hamilton added fuel to the conspiracy theories with his comments about qualifying.

“I don’t expect to be ahead of George in qualifying, especially this year, but we just have to keep pushing. The races are strong,” he said. When asked why he believed this, Hamilton paused, smiled and cryptically replied: “We’ll see…”

The controversy surrounding Hamilton’s performance came to a head during the Montreal Grand Prix. In Q3, Hamilton was initially 0.4 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen, with Russell also putting in a strong performance. Expectations were high for a potential all-Mercedes front row.

However, Hamilton mysteriously ended up in P7, a position that has become uncomfortably familiar this season.

Hamilton later claimed that his team had not prepared his tyres properly for qualifying. He pointed to his tyre warming blankets, claiming that they left his tyres below the optimum temperature required. Given the nature of qualifying, Hamilton claimed he did not have enough laps on each set to bring them into the correct operating temperature window.

As the season progresses, the focus will be on whether Hamilton can find the consistency and performance to leave Mercedes on a high note or if the narrative of sabotage and internal strife will dominate his farewell.

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MORE F1 NEWS: Russell on notice as Mercedes finds fatal flaw

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had their best outings of the year last time out in Montreal. Mercedes scored their first podium of the year in round nine with George Russell overtaking his team mate in the closing stages of the race to clinch the final step on the podium.

With Ferrari and Sergio Perez failing to score at all, the Mercedes result looked as though the team had turned a corner, yet their drivers were not so positive after the chequered flag fell in Canada.

“It felt like a missed opportunity, to be honest,” said Russell after the race having claimed pole position. “We [made] made a couple of mistakes out there, just pushing the limits, and paid the price for it. It was just one too many mistakes at key moments that cost us a shot of fighting with these two towards the end of the race.” READ MORE ON THIS ARTICLE