Lewis Hamilton reacted in no uncertain terms to the statements made by former Finnish Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen. He had accused the Mercedes driver of wanting to provoke his departure from the Silver Arrows.
If Mika Häkkinen has his way, Lewis Hamilton is already thinking about leaving the Silver Arrows after the catastrophic start to the 2022 Formula 1 season.
“He has been with Mercedes for many years and has won several world championships. Now that things are no longer going well, he is starting to think about a change,” said the Finn a few days ago in an interview with the betting portal “Unibet”.
He was surprised at how Hamilton was reacting in the team meetings at the moment, the Finn added: “I bet he [Hamilton] sulks. There’s a lot of complaints and howling.”
These words did not go down well with Lewis Hamilton. Without explicitly naming Häkkinen, the Brit countered the statements made by the former Formula 1 driver in Imola.
“I’ve seen some statements from certain people that I respected a lot growing up,” Hamilton said. “But in the end those comments are just stupid and a bunch of nonsense. They’re made to get headlines and they’re relevant to stay”, the Mercedes driver fired back at Häkkinen.
Hamilton is committed to Mercedes
Hamilton stressed that he had no intention of leaving Mercedes. “I’ve been with this team since I was 13 years old. We’ve had an incredible time together, we’ve been through ups and downs. I’m 100 percent committed to this team. There’s no place I’d rather be,” he confessed the seven-time world champion for the Silver Arrows.
Yes, the team is going through a difficult phase, Hamilton admitted: “But it’s not in my DNA to duck my head and duck away. We’re still world champions and we can solve these problems. It’s just going to take a little longer and a painful year.”