Video: Toto Wolff brands Mercedes conspiracy theorists as 'lunatics'
Thursday 19 May 2016 11:42, UK
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has branded fans who peddle conspiracy theories regarding Lewis Hamilton's reliability as "lunatics".
Hamilton his been hit by a string of technical problems during the opening stages of the 2016, the latest of which prevented him from running during Q3 in Russia.
Wolff is unhappy at the "abuse" the team is being sent on social media with Hamilton fans claiming the team are deliberately causing failures on the world champion's car.
Click play on the video above to watch Wolff's response or read the transcript below.
"First of all, I'm not going to respond to every lunatic that sends a message. Some of them are abusing the team and abusing members of the team and I would never allow that," Wolff told Sky F1 ahead of the Russian GP.
"Number two, the last thing we would do is sabotage Hamilton - he's a great friend to us. He's a lovely person within the team and we feel awful because he's not been able to perform the best and we are letting him down .
"We have moved heaven and earth to move parts overnight into Sochi. The engine guys started work at 2am, the chassis guys started at 5am. They are doing their utmost because Lewis is so important to us and we don't want this to happen.
"But I think we need to keep it in the normal world!"
