"The f*ck is he wearing a mask for?"- Fans question Lewis Hamilton's habit of wearing a mask despite ease of COVID-19 restrictions in F1

Lewis Hamilton continues to wear a mask despite easing Covid-19 restrictions in the paddock. The seven-time world champion can be seen wearing a mask at drivers' press conferences and even while talking to the media. In some pictures in the Mercedes garage, Lewis Hamilton can be seen wearing a mask while talking to the engineers.

This hasn't gone unnoticed as fans have criticized Lewis Hamilton for unnecessary virtue signaling. Here are some of the tweets from fans criticizing Lewis Hamilton for wearing a mask.

"The f*ck is he wearing a mask for?"

"Why you still wearing a friggin mask"

"There are a million reasons I can’t stand Lewis Hamilton: his hypocrisy, his fawning cult followers, his whining radio messages throwing his team under the bus… but top of the list now has to be him still wearing a mask. Reminds me of Michael Jackson."

Fans on the other side of the spectrum said it was ultimately the Mercedes driver's decision if he wants to wear a mask or not.

"Lewis Hamilton is getting criticised for wearing a mask when in close contact with people. He previously spoke how Covid-19 affected him long-term, so I suspect with an increase in cases, he is being sensibly cautious. I don't get why people care, It's his body. #AustrianGP"

"The fact LH44 is now using an FP3 face mask, and not the cheap ones as before, shows there has been some thought put into it. Nobody should be criticised for putting their health first. He wants to keep racing, avoiding Covid-19 helps him do that."

"I have noticed it too and respect him a lot for it. I don't care what his reasons are for it. The fact that he is a public figure trying to normalise the wearing of respirator masks is great."

"Poor Lewis Hamilton must be exhausted every weekend having to remember all the virtue signals he has to do. Mask still strapped on despite nobody anywhere else is wearing one."

"Lewis Hamilton gets criticized for speaking up for human rights, so him being criticized for wearing a mask is not a surprise in the slightest to me. Binotto was doing the same. Sadly Lewis will get stick for simply being Lewis."

Lewis Hamilton's stance on wearing a mask in the paddock

The Mercedes driver was recently asked why he still wears a mask. He clarified that it was because a lot of his friends had caught COVID and he didn't want to catch it again:

“No, this is a personal choice. I just noticed a lot of people around me are getting sick and I definitely don’t want to get sick again. I’ve already experienced it twice. A lot of my friends have messaged me that they have COVID and some are much worse than others."

“Nobody’s wearing a mask so I’m definitely wearing mine. I urge people to do what they want to do – it’s your health at the end of the day, but I want to go home healthy. I want to be able to get up and train and do the things I love doing and I try, if I can, to keep the people I love around me safe when I can when I’m around them.”

With Hamilton being the biggest known activist on the grid, it will be a different ecosystem once the driver decides to call time on his career.