Mercedes has written a letter to its fans on its websites explaining the problems it faced at the Russian Grand Prix and addressing some of the conspiracy theories circulating on social media.
A repeat of an MGU-H problem on Lewis Hamilton's car in qualifying followed by a water leak in the race sparked a series of wild conspiracies on social media that the team may be favouring Nico Rosberg, who won his fourth race in a row in Russia despite encountering an MGU-K problem of his own. In its letter, Mercedes gave further detail of the problems encountered by both drivers during the race and underlined the effort the team is expending to understand and fix the issues.
The team revealed that Rosberg's MGU-K problem emerged before Hamilton's issue and that the fastest lap he recorded towards the end of the race was set while the car was still in a 'safe' setting.
"Shortly after his pit stop, we saw some alarming behaviour from Nico's MGU-K," the letter explained. "We spent a number of laps reassuring him that he had a good gap over Lewis and could ease off before the FIA gave us the all-clear to tell him to switch to a setting that would control the issue. At the wheel, Nico wouldn't have had any inkling of the stress on the pit wall. When he put in the fastest lap on the penultimate lap of the race, he was still in that 'safe' setting -- demonstrating just how much pace the car had last weekend."
Explaining Hamilton's water pressure issue, the team described the fact he finished as a "miracle".
"Not long after Nico's issue arose, we started to see the water pressure falling on Lewis' car. At the time, he was pushing hard to catch Nico and pull away from Kimi [Raikkonen] -- posting several purple lap times in the process. Again, we needed to await confirmation from the FIA of what we could tell him via the radio. After several calls asking him to take it easy, the all-clear came to let him know that he was losing water pressure.
"With zero -- yes zero! -- water pressure remaining for the last 16 laps, the job he did to nurse the car home and still retain second place was truly remarkable. He had to keep the car as cool as possible to avoid damaging the engine while also keeping Kimi at a safe distance, which was no mean feat. We genuinely aren't sure by what miracle the car limped across the line -- but we're certainly not going to complain."
The letter also paid tribute to the Mercedes team members and addressed suggestions from fans that there is a bias towards Rosberg this year.
"The faces you see at the track are only the tip of the iceberg -- but they are a perfect example of just what this represents. They don't just perform pit stops together. They travel, share rooms, eat meals, construct garages, build cars, re-build broken cars, kit spares and pack down tonnes of freight -- together. They sweat, strain, laugh, cry, shout, scream, celebrate, and commiserate -- together. We have the best guys and girls in the world, doing an awesome hob, week in and week out -- and they do if for the team. Not for one driver or the other -- but for each other. There is no 'A' or 'B' team here. Every single member of the crew has earned their right to be counted among the elite of their trade -- and have sacrificed much to do so."
The letter can be read in full here.