Have Your Say: Hamilton London No Show, Backlash Deserved or Unfair?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Despite attendance from all current drivers of the 2017 F1 grid, Lewis Hamilton failed to show at the recent ‘F1 Live’ event in London. Was the Englishman right in his no show, and has the backlash from fans been justified?

With the British Grand Prix weekend now in full swing, Lewis Hamilton has come in for heavy criticism for his failure to attend ‘F1 Live’ alongside his fellow 2017 driver cohort in London on Wednesday, leaving many British fans disappointed in his behavior as they take to social media to vent their frustration at the three time World Champion.

Hamilton is one of the key personalities in modern Formula One racing with a global brand in the tens of millions dollars. Success and image have bred a sizable following for the Englishman in recent years, especially in light of the Mercedes drivers high profile love of interaction with the racing public.

Unfortunately on the Wednesday before the British Grand Prix Hamilton decided not to attend a Formula One parade around Trafalgar Square, becoming the only current F1 driver not present to represent the sport on the eve of his home Grand Prix.

Our question today is –

Was Hamilton right not to attend F1 Live, and is the backlash from fans because of his lack of attendance justified?

As usual please remain respectful and civil in the comments as we debate this topic, thanks!

Debate away…

 

[Dave R]

Justified. That's your home crowd. I can see if it was a meet and greet in Brazil or something, but not your home crowd. He's really done a lot of things the last couple of years that make me scratch my head (Feuding with Nico, Putting down Alonso and the rest of the Indycar series, etc).

 

[Chris]

I'm disappointed he didn't show up, as I think his home crowd deserved his presence more than anything else, but, he's entitled to prepare for the GP in the way he see's fit. This has been a huge stir up by some of the more tabloid media companies *cough* Daily Mail *cough* to be made into a far larger issue than it actually is.

If he wins on Sunday, those same people who booed him in London will be cheering in Silverstone. Life goes on.

Mean while, he visited sick children in hospital last week and has now brought in Billy Monger to be a VIP guest of the Mercedes team for the weekend. People will always find something to hate.

 

[samcar304]

Whilst I don't care too much for what Hamilton does outside of an F1 weekend. He missed a step by not going to the event. It reflected bad on Him, F1 and the Mercedes team.

 

[John Addison]

Who Cares

 

[Tobiman]

I think it was a missed opportunity to connect with fans and boost turn out at the GP which was probably the goal but there will be multiple opportunities for that in the future. The 2017 British GP is a few days away and if he needs some time to get his head straight then by all means take a break.

He has only one shot at the 2017 British GP. On the other hand, there will be multiple opportunities to salvage/improve his PR going forward.

 

[samcar304]

Who Cares

Probably a lot of British and or F1 fans hoping to see their favourite driver

 

[DaVeX↯]

Who Cares

Agree...seriously...who cares?
In the golden age of F1, Drivers were crazy, some cold as ice, others spiritual or just professional but not so...how I can say?
...now we have some kind of boy band member, always with the last haircut, with his brand or set of accessories acting like a tv celebrity...and this is boring, because even if you have all the best skills needed to be a champion you looks "empty"...

 

[protonv5]

It apparently was beneath him. Figures. He was probably rolling with PDiddy and Beyoncé. Who are we to him?

 

[FRMracing]

Okay ready...
-It's his home Grand Prix.
-Every other driver was there (including recently retired drivers)
-He said "We (as in Lewis & Vettel) need to do everything possible to prepare and can't waste any time" even though his rival (rivals if you include Valtteri) went to the "waste of time" one day event.
-Toto, Valtteri, and many Mercedes employees were all there without the 'face of Mercedes'.
-Obviously many people went there to see Hamilton (did you hear the boos when his name was mentioned?)
-Even one of the drivers (forget which) said it was amazing to have every team at an event other than a race event for the first time in F1 (too bad he couldn't say every driver too ).

Also in case anyone didn't notice Palmer was there, just in the classic white & red Renault race suit.
Aarava, the F1 legend was also there /s

edit: I've actually been okay with Hamilton up to this point, he's always been near the line for me but this takes the cake. I can't say I'm really angry, just disappointed & honestly feel a tiny bit insulted as a fan of the sport.

 

[Tobiman]

Agree...seriously...who cares?
In the golden age of F1, Drivers were crazy, some cold as ice, others spiritual or just professional but not so...how I can say?
...now we have some kind of boy band member, always with the last haircut, with his brand or set of accessories acting like a tv celebrity...and this is boring, because even if you have all the best skills needed to be a champion you looks "empty"...

I for one welcome dynamic personalities in F1. Lewis is a star, whether you like it or not, and has the ability to attract fans from various walks of life. You don't need to be into F1 to relate to him.

To most outsiders, he's a breath of fresh air among the current crop of drivers that are as boring as sin. Vettel and Ricciardo are the only ones that are anywhere near interesting.

 

[Ricardo Rey]

Right or wrong, I doubt F1 couldn't buy this kind of publicity, whether they wanted it or not.

 

[Kakusso]

The (true) fans are more interested in racing. Not in the stage.

 

[FRMracing]

Lewis is a star, whether you like it or not ...
To most outsiders, he's a breath of fresh air among the current crop of drivers that are as boring as sin. Vettel and Ricciardo are the only ones that anywhere near interesting.

First, Lewis is not a star or celebrity, he is a race car driver recognized by a relatively small amount of people. Compared to most celebrities barely anyone outside of Formula One actually knows who he is and he has a pretty small following on social media compared to most real celebrities.

Second, most drivers haven't shown much personality because of Bernie. Ever since Liberty Media came in, we've been getting smaller YouTube channels making videos with drivers at events like these. There's the F1 Grill the Grid now showing some more of the driver's personalities. Ocon & Force India caught my interest because of a small YouTube video they did with a gamer. I actually got to see a YouTuber talk 1 on 1 with Kimi and another with Valtteri and they made jokes (Kimi freakin' Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas making jokes and laughing! )
Not to mention what most people saw on the news is what drivers said on team radios (the people running the team radios on TV can make any driver look like an ass or an angel if they want. )
Yeah, in the past a lot of drivers have seemed bland but I've seen more personality from the majority in the last season then I've seen in years!

 

[wombat999]

Dynamic personality????
I like the 'Boy Band' association, sums up the entire 'manufactured' Hamilton shtick.
A bad decision on his part and the Mercedes 'PR Machine' decision makers.
Muppet!!!

 

[FRMracing]

The (true) fans are more interested in racing. Not in the stage.

What do you think is a 'true fan'. Sure Hamilton is still a blast to watch but I'm still disappointed in him.

To me a true fan cares about the races, the persons, the teams, the history, and the future... not just the races. Being a true fan goes deeper than just the sport itself.

 

[FRMracing]

Probably a lot of British and or F1 fans hoping to see their favourite driver

If you watch the official YouTube video on the event you can hear when they boo'd Hamilton twice and the people that cheered for him was underwhelming compared.

 

[Chris]

A bad decision on his part and the Mercedes 'PR Machine' decision makers.
Muppet!!!

People complaining about this being a PR move, while at the same time complaining about him not turning up to a PR event. LOL

 

[Tim Lundy]

Oh no!! Someone decided not to be a lemming and went his own way. Ermagod it's the death of the sport!!

I wonder how James Hunt would have gotten on in this day and age.

 

[Tobiman]

First, Lewis is not a star or celebrity, he is a race car driver recognized by a relatively small amount of people. Compared to most celebrities barely anyone outside of Formula One actually knows who he is and he has a pretty small following on social media compared to most real celebrities.

Lewis is a star racing driver. He has more followers/fans than any other formula 1 driver other than Kimi. I wouldn't compare him to movie stars since they operate on a far bigger stage.