"I trust these guys 1000%, my mechanics are incredible," says Lewis
Thursday 19 May 2016 11:29, UK
Lewis Hamilton has urged his supporters to "trust" Mercedes after the F1 world champion suffered a spate of mechanical failures at the start of the new season.
Hamilton's plea - in which he described his Mercedes crew as "my family" and his mechanics as "the best in the business" - was made in the wake of repeated allegations of wrongdoing across social media as the Englishman fell 43 points behind Nico Rosberg, who has enjoyed a trouble-free start to the new season, in the Drivers' World Championship.
In a post on his official Facebook account, Hamilton wrote: "I want you to know how grateful I am for all of your support. I'd like to ask that you please trust in my team, as I do.
"This is my family. These guys have been the greatest, hardest working people for me, and that is why I am now 3x World Champion. Please don't put any more thought into my team doing anything unjust towards me, and understand that it would be in no ones best interest for that to be the case.
"We've had the best 3 years together, and whilst it's not going to plan right now, all will unfold in its own time. I trust these guys 1000% and my mechanics are incredible, the best in the business. I respect them so please do the same. They are the guys that are going to make winning this championship possible."
Hamilton has suffered two separate engine failures in the opening four rounds and had to call off his pursuit of Rosberg in the Russian GP when a water pressure leak developed on his car.
Mercedes described his second-place finish as "miraculous" in their own open letter to supporters last week after team boss Toto Wolff branded conspiracy theorists "lunatics".
According to reports in Germany, Mercedes have traced Hamilton's water leak in Sochi to a crack in a waterpipe caused by fatigue.
