Toto Wolff has ripped into a portion of Lewis Hamilton’s fanbase (Image: Getty)
had some harsh words for fans who have accused of sabotaging the seven-time world champion during his final season with the Brackley-based team.
Hamilton opted to sign for way back in February, and while his 2024 campaign has produced two victories in Silverstone and Spa, the general performance level has made this the weakest season of the legendary British driver’s decorated F1 career.
The 39-year-old’s struggles have been exacerbated by ’s performances. The man from King’s Lynn has enjoyed a breakthrough year in many regards and sits 24 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings despite having been disqualified after winning the Belgian Grand Prix.
A portion of Hamilton’s passionate fanbase has blamed their driver’s struggles on , accusing them of sabotaging the seven-time world champion as a punishment for turning his back on the team. These claims have been rubbished by the senior leadership though.
“I’ve never read the comments. I just hear that this nonsense appears,” Wolff fumed in Qatar. “Now we can talk at length about the toxic environment of social media but I’ve always said if you hide yourself behind a screen and you open up an account and then you do these comments.
“I wonder, who would even have the time to comment? We love our fans, they contribute to what we are and the other ones who believe that they need to create some crazy, made-up conspiracies, it doesn’t even bother me.
Don’t miss…
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
Lewis Hamilton is heading into his final race as a Mercedes driver (Image: Getty)
“They are just idiots who have no understanding. Probably never put a foot near a racing car, maybe not even a normal car. My message to them is ‘nobody is reading what you write’. 10 years ago I was really upset about what somebody wrote and I was walking on the street with Susie [Wolff] and there was this rather not decent person coming towards us.
“She said ‘Would you consider this person’s opinion’ and I said ‘No, why would I’ and she said ‘Well this could be the person that has just wrote the comment’. So you are hiding behind your screen, somewhere over the mountains and you want to write a comment? Wonderful. You are writing it for yourself and the few other lunatics that want to engage with you.”
More F1… [DRAMA]
These comments were echoed by 2009 world champion Jenson Button, who told Sky Sports F1: “Just so the fans know, no team wants any of their drivers to be slow, never want them to be slow.
“So, just so you know, will be getting the same equipment. Sometimes teams will have a slight upgrade that goes on one car rather than the other, especially for the driver that is staying.”