Lewis Hamilton's fans have reacted to the Briton's support for Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian's crash at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix provoked a safety car which led to Hamilton's loss against Max Verstappen.
Latifi received a lot of hate from Hamilton fans who attacked the Canadian on social media for allegedly deliberately invoking a safety car. The Williams driver eventually came out with his own public statement to show the harassment he received. During this period, however, unknown to the public, Hamilton reached out to the Canadian to show his support for him despite the Williams driver being the indirect cause of the Briton's loss.
Hamilton's gesture has captured the hearts of fans who are now rushing to show praise for the seven-time world champion. F1 YouTuber and Hamilton fan Aldas wrote on Twitter:
“Lewis himself messaged the man who unintentionally lost him the title to support him. Whilst other people jumped on the hate train to blame and abuse him. His maturity and character never ceases to amaze me”
Another Hamilton fan replied to the comment, writing:
“I don’t get people’s logic. It wasn’t Latifi’s fault #MasiOUT threw the rulebook out of the window and did what he did with the SC ruling. It wasn’t Latifi’s fault #FIA dropped the ball to correct things. It is NOT Latifi’s fault MV’s victory is a stolen, hollow one. #F1 #F1xed”
Lewis Hamilton fans lash out at Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button
Fans of Lewis Hamilton have been vocal about the lack of fair play from the FIA since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They have now started attacking former world champions Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button for expressing views contrary to their own.
When the 2009 world champion Button claimed the sport needed better clarity regarding its rules, fans immediately attacked him for allegedly siding with the FIA. One fan called Button's words a "load of bull****", saying:
“The biggest load of bull**** i have ever heard in my life…. The rules are black and white, they don’t need clarifying. And also what about the other multitude of times Masi made it up as he went along… Brazil turn 4 anyone… In the bin…!!!!!”
Another Lewis Hamilton fan went after four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel who thought Michael Masi did a good job considering the immense pressure he was under all season long. The German believes the problem runs deeper than just Masi, and to blame only the Australian race director is unfair.
Fans sided with Vettel's Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll, who believes that Hamilton lost the championship in an unfair manner. The fan wrote:
“What a weird universe we live in. Stroll is the voice of reason, while Vettel defends Masi and thinks he should keep his job. Again, let me repeat. Lance Stroll. The guy from Canada.”
With #VoidLap58 trending on Twitter, fans hope the FIA resolves the Abu Dhabi mess as soon as possible, giving drivers plenty of time to prepare for the new season.