- F1 bosses are reportedly furious with Lewis Hamilton for calling them greedy.
- The seven-time world champion said “money talks” after a race which only lasted two laps.
- The sport’s bosses reportedly wished Hamilton had expressed his opinions in private.
Formula One bosses are reportedly furious with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton after he accused them of being greedy.
Hamilton was scathing in his remarks following the Belgian Grand Prix, which lasted just two laps both behind a safety car.
The Brit questioned the logic behind the decision to try and race even as conditions worsened and speculated whether the choice was motivated by commercial reasons.
Under FIA rules, two laps is the minimum needed for a race to be declared as completed, regardless of if they were driven behind a safety car or not.
Hamilton also said the 75,000 fans, who paid between $147 to $700, deserved their money back.
John Thys – Pool/Getty Images
British newspaper the Daily Mail reports there was “absolute fury” from those at the top of the sport at the 36-year-old’s comments.
“He talks about handing back millions of pounds to fans, though he makes millions out of Formula One and it guarantees his team’s job and he gives little or nothing back himself.
“He could have expressed his opinions privately rather than in the way he did, which makes no sense.” a source reportedly told the Daily Mail.
Hamilton’s championship lead was cut to three points as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was declared the winner of the two-lap race.
On Tuesday, the FIA president Jean Tody issued a statement saying that he was “very sorry” to the “brave spectators who waited many hours in the rain” and that the FIA, along with the teams, would review the regulations to see what “can be learned and improved for the future.”
—Jean Todt (@JeanTodt) August 31, 2021