AlphaTauri rubbishes Dutch GP conspiracy theories and defends Schmitz

The accusations on social media were stoked by the impact the virtual safety car had on the race that followed Tsunoda’s retirement, favouring Max Verstappen at the expense of Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Red Bull head of strategy Hannah Schmitz has been the victim of online abuse as a result.

The drama began when emerging from his pitstop Tsunoda suspected that a wheel was not properly attached.

He was told by his engineer to stop on track,…