Lewis Hamilton refuses to answer question about Grenfell Tower victims during post-qualifying press conference

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton refused to answer questions at a press conference regarding the Grenfell Tower victims.

The questioning came after his team Mercedes signed a sponsorship deal with Kingspan, the building materials company involved in the tragedy.

Regarding their role in the incident, Kingspan representatives reached out to Sportskeeda, saying:

“The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy that should never have happened, and Kingspan supports the vitally important work of the Inquiry to determine what went wrong and why."

"Kingspan played no role in the design of the cladding system used on Grenfell Tower, where its K15 product constituted approximately 5 per cent of the insulation purchased for use. It was used as a substitute product without Kingspan’s knowledge in a system that was not compliant with the buildings regulations."

“The new partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team reflects the ambitious sustainability targets of both organisations.”

Hamilton has been facing protests from fellow countrymen and victims of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. It must be noted that even the UK government has appealed to the British champion to sever his ties with the sponsor, prominently visible on his car from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

F1 correspondent for Daily Mail UK, Jonathan McEvoy, posed the question to Lewis Hamilton at the FIA drivers' press conference:

“Lewis, in England, the news is that you’re being backed by a firm held responsible in some way for the deaths of 72 in the Grenfell fire disaster. What do you say to the loved ones of the deceased, and will you ask your team to drop the arrangement before tomorrow’s race?”

McEvoy's question was met with an eerie silence from the seven-time world champion. It wasn't until another paddock journalist probed further and reframed the question that Lewis Hamilton finally decided to speak.

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Lewis Hamilton believes it is not his place to speak about the Grenfell Tower incident

After being probed further by Daily Telegraph correspondent Tom Carey on whether Lewis Hamilton was aware of his sponsor Kingspan’s links to the incident, the Briton finally had a few words to say.

Answering Carey's question, Hamilton said:

“It’s not something that I feel like I have to speak of publicly. I had nothing to do with the team’s signing any of the sponsors… This really doesn’t have anything to do with me and I know Toto is sorting it. Unfortunately my name is associated with it because it’s put on my car but whether that remains the same, we shall see.”

It should be reiterated herein that according to Kingspan's representatives, the product in question was used without their knowledge and composed just 5% of the total insulation.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes face a lot of flak back in the UK over associating themselves with Kingspan. Their vague replies to the incident do not further their cause in any way.

The sponsor’s renewed partnership with Mercedes, which will see its logo flashed across the champion's car, might stir more controversy and continue to be protested by those affected by the unfortunate Grenfell incident.