Lewis Hamilton addresses online negativity that Mercedes and George Russell have been facing since Canada

Lewis Hamilton addressed the online negativity that Mercedes and George Russell have been facing since the F1 Canadian GP and said that the squad needs support. Since the race in Canada, the German team and George have been the target of Hamilton fans, who have made claims that the team was sabotaging their idol.

It all started in Monaco when Hamilton first dropped the comment that Russell was the Mercedes driver who got the upgraded front wing. Then in Canada, after having a strong run in practice sessions, Hamilton was out-qualified by his teammate. What made it worse was that Russell got pole position while Hamilton could only muster P7.

Later in the race, Lewis Hamilton would get disadvantaged at the last safety car period that saw George Russell get the medium tire while the 7x champion got the hard one. This helped Russell jump Hamilton in the race and score the team's first podium of the season.

All of this led to a massive fan backlash against the German team. Lewis Hamilton was questioned by the media, including Motorsport in Barcelona, about this, and the driver admitted that he wasn't aware that his teammate had been facing it.

"If you look at the [past] years, we have always been a strong team. We have always worked very hard together. I think it's easy to get emotional. I think we need support, not negativity. I wasn't even aware that George was experiencing negativity [online]. George does his best every weekend, and he continues to develop with the team. So you can't blame him at all," Hamilton said.

The Brit added:

"Of course, there always be things that can be improved within the team. And this goes through conversations, through communication. This is something we have consistently worked on. But we are all in the same boat. We all work hard together. I think we owe this to our long-term relationship."

Lewis Hamilton addresses the concerns around ticket prices

The Mercedes driver also addressed the concerns around the lack of a full house in Silverstone. Initially, the organizer blamed Red Bull and Max Verstappen's dominance for the lack of demand, but more and more drivers have come out and said that it is the ticket prices that have proven to be a contributing factor.

Lewis Hamilton had similar views on the topic, as he said during the aforementioned discussion with the media:

"We have to watch ticket prices. It’s hugely expensive and it’s too high. The sport won’t like that I’m saying that, but I’m just thinking from the perspective of the fans and their families."

Hamilton will be one of the three top British drivers on the grid at Silverstone. The 2023 F1 season also had three different British drivers fighting it out at the front, and that should be one of the attractions for the fans coming to watch the race.