Mercedes call police after Hamilton 'sabotage' claims

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has hit out after an anonymous email was sent that claimed Lewis Hamilton was being "sabotaged" and that his life was in danger.

- KIERAN JACKSON

Wolff, speaking ahead of tomorrow's Spanish Grand Prix, denied the email had come from anyone within the team, and blamed online “cowards”. He said the response would be to “go in full force”.

The email, titled “a potential death warrant for Lewis” and claiming to be from a Mercedes employee, accused Wolff of being “vindictive” and stated that seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton was being “excluded” as a result of his 2025 move to Ferrari.

The message was sent a day after the Canadian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, when Hamilton missed out on a podium in the closing laps as his teammate of two-and-a-half years George Russell overtook him on the quicker medium tyres, while Hamilton was left powerless to defend on the hard compound rubber.

Mercedes have now confirmed they have reported the matter to the police and are also mounting their own investigation to find the source of the email, including attempting to find the IP address.

Wolff, who despite his disappointment about Hamilton’s transfer, publicly bared no grudge and insists the pair have a “friendship”.

“We know this is not coming from an employee of our team and we receive an incredible number of these types of emails,” said Wolff, in a strong response when questioned in yesterday’s team principals’ press conference at the Barcelona circuit.