5 moments when Lewis Hamilton's comments aged poorly

Lewis Hamilton is the biggest star in F1. The driver is the most successful talent in F1's history. When it comes to records, you name it, he has his name on it. Coming from a very humble background, the driver has made his way through the junior racing categories to become a global celebrity.

Whenever someone of his experience or talent says something, everyone listens. Having said that, the 15-plus years in F1 don't come without a blemish or two. Hamilton also has had his fair share of them where he has said something, but that something has not aged well.

In this feature, we're taking a trip down memory lane where we take a look at various moments in the Mercedes driver's career where he has said something but regretted it later. So without further ado, let's get straight to it.

#1 Lewis Hamilton's 'liegate' (2009)

Lewis Hamilton always prided himself on being morally correct in the way he raced in F1. This was something that he had claimed multiple times when he stepped up to race in F1. All of these claims did, however, go for a toss when Hamilton was caught lying to the stewards at the 2009 F1 Australian GP after the race.

As a result, the valiant drive in Melbourne where he came through the field to secure a podium was disqualified. Hamilton apologized to the media for his actions and years later, revealed that he was close to quitting F1 after that incident. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2010, he stated:

"There was a lot to take on board after what had gone on. I care about how people perceive me. It was a feeling of 'Shoot, maybe I shouldn't be in the sport', rather than not in my team. This is my dream team and I am fortunate to have been here from the beginning.

"I never had a desire to drive for anyone else. So, it was not a desire to leave the team, just to stop racing. For a split second, it was 'This is too much to take. How do I recover from this?'"

#2 'Maybe, it's because I'm black' (2011)

The 2011 season is still considered by many as Lewis Hamilton's worst and it is evident if you look at his results from that season. It all did, however, come to a head at the race in Monaco that season.

Under pressure, as Sebastian Vettel continued to extend his lead in the championship, Hamilton had an uphill climb on a track like Monaco where a poor qualifying result made things worse.

In a race where he would either have contact or bring out a safety car while racing drivers like Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa, etc., the McLaren driver (at the time) was penalized multiple times.

Frustrated after the race, in a comment that was supposed to be just a passing remark, Lewis told BBC:

"Maybe it's because I'm black! That's what Ali G says. I don't know... You know what, out of six races, I've been to the stewards five times - it's a joke, an absolute frickin' joke."

A comment with these racial undertones did not go well in the media and the driver was forced to apologize.

#3 Advocating vegan ideology (2018)

Lewis Hamilton had moved to a vegan diet during his dominant years and felt that the benefits of such a diet were immense. Since then, veganism has gained prominence amongst the masses as well.

In all of this though, where the British racer arguably took a wrong turn was when he started advocating vegan ideology and how it was important for everyone to save the planet.

The seven-time world champion received pushback at the time from Fernando Alonso. The latter commented on the Mercedes driver's lifestyle and the contradiction of his appeal. In a press conference, Alonso said:

"We all know the kind of lifestyle Lewis has. F1 drivers take more than 200 flights every year (including Lewis). You can't then say, don't eat meat."

#4 Virtue signaling during COVID (2020)

Lewis Hamilton came under severe criticism during the 2020 F1 season when he shared a post talking about climate change and what was going on in the world.

In a tweet where he claimed it was only him and his dog that had gone out alone in the ocean, the video clip made it obvious that a photographer was there as well.

To add to this, the irony of Lewis making his plea about climate change while riding alone in a boat was not lost on anyone. The post did cause a lot of blowback towards him as the driver's actions and his words were polar opposites.

#5 My team doesn't make mistakes (2022)

Lewis Hamilton hasn't been very successful in recent times

Arguably one of the biggest bloopers in recent times (the one that has been turned into a meme as well) was what Lewis Hamilton claimed last season about Mercedes. The driver was part of a pre-season press conference with the scars of the 2021 F1 championship still fresh.

The word 'revenge' was doing the rounds inside Mercedes against Red Bull and Max Verstappen as the German team wanted Hamilton to bounce back and win his 8th world title.

In the same vein, the British star was questioned by a media member about a scenario where the German team cannot produce a car capable of fighting for a title.

Lewis Hamilton scoffed at the suggestion as he showed the team's track record over the last decade and said the iconic line, "My team doesn't make mistakes."

Ironically, since that comment, Lewis Hamilton has not won a single race or been in contention for the title. It's fair to say that in recent times, this is one of the comments that has left the driver red-faced.

Edited by Akshay Saraswat