Lewis Hamilton seemed to completely forget that Franz Tost is the team principal of Red Bull's sister team Alpha Tauri. The seven-time world champion was participating in a discussion about salary caps for drivers at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix press conference. The awkward exchange, where Hamilton is reminded of who Tost is, went completely viral on the internet.
The Alpha Tauri boss was vocal about his opinions on the salary limit that should be followed for drivers, setting it at a maximum of $10 million. When asked what Hamilton felt about the same, the Briton had absolutely no idea who Tost was.
Watch the video below:
Responding to the question, Hamilton asked:
“Who said that?”
The moderator repeated Tost's name, hoping that it would give the Mercedes driver enough clarity about the Austrian. Hamilton, however, once again asked who Tost was. In an awkward moment, the moderator informed the 37-year-old that he was talking about the team principal of Alpha Tauri.
Salary caps have been a topic of discussion for a while in F1, as driver salaries form a major chunk of the team's budget. With budget caps of $145 million currently in place, the call for discussion has increased. Meanwhile, Forbes reports Lewis Hamilton is the highest-paid driver on the grid, ahead of Max Verstappen.
Vettel rejects drink from Lewis Hamilton, claims he'd "rather have a Red Bull"
In the midst of a press conference at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton offered Sebastian Vettel a drink. The former Red Bull world champion had a hilarious response to the Briton.
Vettel responded to the offer by saying:
“I’d rather have a Red Bull.”
Max Verstappen, who was also at the conference, claimed:
“The love is still there.”
Watch the video below:
Sebastian Vettel has won four consecutive world championships with Red Bull. Even though he got close with Ferrari to another title, he never really got back to the top as he would have expected. Vettel is now with Aston Martin and Verstappen has gone on to win his maiden world championship, becoming the second Red Bull F1 driver to do so.