Outspoken former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has taken aim at Lewis Hamilton, calling him out for over-dramatising his behaviour at the German GP.
The Mercedes driver has become increasingly known for his celebrity lifestyle and unique personality, perhaps not too dissimilar to the Canadian, with his bleached blonde hair and attempts at music after leaving the grid.
Hamilton’s actions in recent weeks though have been even more emotional, from his post-race outburst at Silverstone to his actions after the low of a Q1 exit in qualifying and then winning at Hockenheim 24 hours later.
Villeneuve though, thinks it’s all for the cameras.
“He confuses F1 with Hollywood. Everything he does is staged,” he told Auto Bild.
“He portrays himself on social media like he is Jesus. The way he knelt next to his car after his problem in qualifying looked like the suffering of Christ and what he said afterwards was the Sermon on the Mount.
“Then [after winning] he gestured so dramatically on the podium that everyone could see who sent the sudden rain.”
Standing by his driver though, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff defending the 33-year-old and praised how he wasn’t afraid to hide his feelings.
“I had a conversation with him about it [social media] on Sunday night and I think it is great that someone wears his heart on his sleeve,” the Austrian said.
“He says things likes he means them. We are humans and have emotions and are influenced by what others say and what they say and you take things personally.”
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Later on, Hamilton would post and then delete a story on Instagram criticising, without naming names, what he considered the persistent negativity of Sky Sports F1’s ex-driver analysis, coming from none other than ex-teammate Nico Rosberg.
This after reports the four-time world champion also requested the German be taken off podium interview duties with David Coulthard taking over.
“Sometimes you let your guard down, and maybe such a moment is like on Sunday when you win a race you did not expect to win, and you let your guard down, and then you find yourself at home exuberant and unable to sleep and you put on the TV and hear a commentator saying negative stuff, that can get to you,” Wolff claimed.
“But that makes him that special individual that we talk about all the time and is able to have a performance like he had in the rain in Germany.
“I mean, his performance when it started to get wet, how much faster was he? Four seconds a lap, albeit with a better tyre, but it was unbelievable.
“He could have won the race against Vettel without Vettel going off.”
