Lewis Hamilton denies any bias against him from Mercedes and has defended his teammate George Russell after he sent an anonymous email to F1, the team and the media last week accusing the team of ruining Hamilton’s chances .
Hamilton, who will leave Mercedes to join Ferrari next season after struggling this season with an underperforming Mercedes team, also called for lower ticket prices at the British Grand Prix in just a few weeks at a press conference in Spain. . He has been beaten by Russell in qualifying in eight of the nine races so far, and there have been a number of accusations on social media recently claiming teams were trying to sabotage Hamilton’s efforts.
Last week, an email was sent to the entire paddock claiming: “Some in our team feel there is a systemic undermining of Lewis, his car, his tire strategy, his race strategy and his mental health. Disgruntled. In this case, the team is almost certainly referring to “Lewis,” as some fans call themselves, rather than anyone at Mercedes, and the structure and tone are clearly those of another disgruntled fan. works. The email also warned that the “dangerous route could ultimately endanger Lewis’ life.”
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton said he had not seen the email but immediately dismissed the accusations and those made on social media. “There are always things that can be done better within the team, and this can be achieved through dialogue and communication. This is what we have been working on,” he said. “But we are all in the same boat, we all work together and we all want to achieve good results. This is due to our long-term relationship.
Russell, who took pole position and finished third with Hamilton fourth at the final round in Canada, also received repeated abuse on social media from fans of the seven-time champion, which Hamilton also condemned.
“We’ve always been a strong team and we’ve always worked hard together. I think it’s easy to get emotional,” he said. “I think we need support, not negativity. I don’t actually know that George is going through any negativity. George has done nothing but do his best every weekend and contribute to the team, so there’s nothing he can do about it at all.” Picky.
McLaren driver Lando Norris dismissed the accusations as “the stupidest thing ever” and asked: “Why would they do that?” [Mercedes] Want to take away points? Of course, Hamilton will not be involved in Mercedes’ work on the car next year as he is about to join Ferrari. This is standard operating procedure in F1 and is very different from consciously acting to your own detriment during a race weekend.
With just two weeks left until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Hamilton has expressed concern that ticket prices for the event have risen too high for many fans.
“It was an incredible event, a lot of fans came out and had a great weekend,” he said. “The only thing I would say is we have to pay attention to ticket prices. The cost of living continues to rise. It’s too high.
“I just think from the perspective of a fan coming with his family. It’s very expensive, so I think it’s looking at how to provide better accessibility for people.
Last year, the event hosted 480,000 F1 spectators over four days, a record for an F1 event, although chief executive Stuart Pringle said he was confident the event would be completed on July 6-7. Tickets are sold out ahead of game weekend, but tickets are not sold out yet. Attendance is expected to be down from last year as organizers have reduced capacity to improve the experience.
They’ve also overhauled their ticket sales system to offer a more progressive sales process, with early orders receiving lower prices. However, there has been criticism of the pricing, especially on social media. Four-day grandstand tickets, which are still on sale, cost around £600. Pringle also pointed out that after years of barely breaking even, race organizers had reinvested heavily in the circuit, and their efforts were bolstered when F1 awarded the circuit a new 10-year contract in February. recognized.
