Mercedes is right to confront the 'lunatics'

We all enjoy a good conspiracy theory in Formula 1 - that 'what if...' suggestion of some noir plot that appears at face value to be too far-fetched to be true.

The more the argument is peddled, and the more you think about it for a moment then maybe, just maybe, you wonder if there may be a grain of reality at its core.

After all, when the first murmurings of the Renault 'crashgate' saga started to emerge, how many of you genuinely believed there was a shred of truth in the suspicion the team deliberately ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to plough into a wall during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to favour team-mate Fernando Alonso?

Outlandish? Unthinkable?

I'm sure a dismissive wave of the hand was followed by some comment along the lines of 'Never in a million years...', but, to everyone's amazement, it happened to be true.

If ever there was a litmus test of what can shake our beliefs to their foundations then that was surely it.

So why should we believe Mercedes' recent protestations following claims the team is favouring Nico Rosberg over Lewis Hamilton this season?

Let's face it, if one illustrious manufacturer can stoop low enough to fake a crash to try to emerge from the nadir it was experiencing at that time, surely it is not beyond the realms of possibility another would deliberately harm one of its own driver's title chances in order to strike an equilibrium within the team?

Since the introduction of the current F1 power unit we have had two years of brutal Mercedes domination, and one driver in particular in Hamilton having the upper hand and claiming the drivers' title on both occasions.

It was evident in pre-season testing Mercedes would again be the team to beat this year, even if there were tangible signs Ferrari had closed the gap.

But who is to say the Mercedes hierarchy did not pool its collective thinking and in an underhand, conspiratorial fashion came up with a plan to deliberately tamper with Hamilton's car and hand Rosberg the initiative?

Let me be abundantly clear where I stand on this sort of speculation: it's an absolute steaming pile of hogwash! I'd use a far stronger word than the latter, but editorial policy dictates I have to keep it clean.

Going back to pre-season testing the W07 was bulletproof over the first seven and a half days, racking up lap after faultless lap, until the conclusion to the final morning when Hamilton suffered a transmission failure.

It was the first chink in Mercedes' armour at the time, and there was no suspicion then of any foul play, just a natural failure following miles of seamless driving.

It has to be remembered slow starts compromised Hamilton in the opening two races in Australia and Bahrain after he had claimed pole position at both. No need to start talking about sabotage at that point.

While Rosberg's Melbourne and Sakhir wins were pretty much plain sailing, Hamilton still managed to salvage second and third places.

So to China, and now the first seeds of doubt in the minds of those eager to (mis-)read into situations were sown.

An unscheduled gearbox change even before the weekend started incurred a five-place grid penalty for Hamilton, immediately placing him onto the backfoot.

When the three-time world champion's car sustained a failure to the MGU-H in qualifying that resulted in him being unable to set a flying lap in Q1 and prompted a power unit change, questions were starting to be raised.

From the back of the grid, it was sheer bad luck Hamilton rode over a piece of wing following a first-corner melee involving those at the front, followed by a hit from Sauber's Felipe Nasr that dislodged his own front wing.

Hamilton did well to finish seventh from such a disadvantaged position, but with Rosberg making it three victories in a row, anger from the former's so-called fans was beginning to bubble underneath the surface.

Rolling into Russia and hoping for nothing more than a clean weekend, the 31-year-old suffered a repeat failure of the MGU-H at the end of Q2, resulting in him being unable to set a time in Q3, which left him 10th on the grid, well behind poleman Rosberg.

Another engine change followed, this time to a spare taken to Russia after it had been rebuilt following what occurred in China, allowing Hamilton to limit the damage in the race by finishing second to Rosberg.

But even then that was not without problems as Hamilton's charge had to be halted due to a water pressure issue, which following an investigation proved to be a cracked carbon pipe.

That was enough ammunition for the Hamilton lovers and the Rosberg haters to give Mercedes both barrels as the conspiracy theory the latter was now being favoured over the former lit up social media.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff was scathing in his condemnation of such critics, describing them as a "bunch of lunatics", and accusing them of "lying in their bed with a laptop on their chest and sending out abusive messages".

Extremely strong words from Wolff, but entirely appropriate, with the strength of his anger underlining the feeling running deep not only within himself, but all within Mercedes.

While I may have mentioned the once-in-a-blue-moon actions of Renault, to accuse Mercedes of deliberate subversion in this instance is beyond the pale, and from people with clearly nothing better to do in their lives.

Mercedes' reputation as a reliable global leader in car manufacturing is on the line every time it takes part in a motorsport event, be it F1, the DTM, or GT racing.

The last scenario it needs, when millions of people are watching worldwide, is the sight of one of its cars breaking down, and for there to be a repeat of a particular failure is the worst possible advertisement for the brand.

If Mercedes genuinely wanted to wreck Hamilton's hopes of a third title do you think it would do so in such a public manner?

There must surely be subtler ways of tampering with a car than to expose it to a double MGU-H failure.

And let's not forget the man hours that then went into the repairs that followed, the engine replacements, the flying in of parts, notably overnight to Russia.

It is not only Hamilton affected at the end of the day, but engineers and mechanics, placing enormous strain and pressure on those taxed with rebuilding the car, but also the likes of Wolff and executive technical director Paddy Lowe in overseeing the work.

The bottom line is, to 'nobble' a car, as suggested in this case, goes against every sporting ideal and principle known to man.

It would be the worst form of cheating, and without a shadow of a doubt is not something anyone inside Mercedes would want to be involved with otherwise its reputation would be ruined forever in business and sport.

For those who want to throw Renault back at me, there is a difference.

Renault used the actions of one driver to help another win a race, and so further its own cause and ambitions in F1 given its fall from the spotlight of its title-winning years in 2005 and '06.

Yes, it was cheating and a despicable, duplicitous route to take but the outcome it was aiming for was clear to see.

But to suggest Mercedes is attempting to advance the cause of one of its drivers over another undermines the organisation as a whole.

No wonder Mercedes issued the open letter to its fans as it did, reminding them of "the blood, sweat and tears" of the 1000 men and women at Brackley and Brixworth whose purpose it is to make the team into a winner, and who work for the team, not one driver.

To suggest sabotage at the top level also undermines their efforts, would strike at their pride and integrity and leave them thoroughly demotivated.

Even Hamilton himself was forced to issue his own statement, urging those hawking the hate not to "put any more thought into my team doing anything unjust towards me".

It is all too easy in this internet-fuelled world for a faceless entity hiding behind a pseudonym to spout such injustice on social media without recognising the consequences of their words.

Put them in front of the workforce at Mercedes - Hamilton, Rosberg, Wolff et al - and urge them to repeat their remarks and they would probably be reduced to gibbering wrecks.

So yes, we might enjoy a good conspiracy theory, and more often than not we are able to laugh it away.

On occasion, though, there are those who take things to extremes.

All power to Mercedes for displaying a united front in the days that followed the Russian Grand Prix and putting the "lunatics" in their place.