OMG!!!!!!!!!
That's even worse than I expected.........................:smilerolleyes:
British press steps up attack on Hamilton
Despite Lewis Hamilton's griping about recent media "negativity," the British press stepped up the pressure after the McLaren driver on Sunday failed for a second consecutive race to score a point.
Fleet Street analysts of the Magny-Cours race criticised the 23-year-old not only for his run to tenth place due to "impetuousity" that netted him a drive-through penalty, but also for his apparent loss of composure in the French circuit's paddock.
"Lewis Hamilton turned into Le Sulk (...) as he sparked a witchhunt controversy," the
Daily Mail wrote, after the Briton initially refused to speak to the media but then blasted F1 officials for penalising him for his illegal passing move on Sebastian Vettel.
The Times called France his "lowest of the low points," as Hamilton succumbed to yet more errors but then hit out at the "crap" being written about him by the very reporters he was addressing.
"There's a lot of crap coming out. That's what they do: build you up and then break you down, but they can't break me," he said.
"Regardless of what's written in the papers, I will go back to the workshop, push with the team, focus on the next race and hit'em hard."
The
Daily Express newspaper was not amused with Hamilton's assessment, dismissing it as "completely wrong" and captioning a photo of him with the words "Off in a huff."
In a reference to his treatment, Hamilton declared:
"There is nothing you can do that can distract me. You can keep on giving me penalties and whatever you want to do and I'll keep battling and try and come back with a result."
The
Daily Express argues that "Troubled times have come for Lewis Hamilton," and the
Daily Telegraph agrees: "If discretion is the better part of valour, Hamilton could do with a dose."
The
Evening Standard hit out at Hamilton's initial refusal to talk to the press on Sunday, commenting that Hamilton's "image of sporting integrity is in danger of exploding for lack of sound advice."
The newspaper was of the opinion that "this sudden persecution complex and petulance does him no service," adding: "He needs to take responsibility for his mistakes."
Attitude aside, the British press was also unimpressed with Hamilton's performance at Magny-Cours.
The
Times said his illegal pass on Vettel was an "overaggressive" moment of "adrenaline-fuelled impetuosity."
"You cannot criticise a racer for racing," The
Daily Telegraph wrote. "However, with better judgment in Canada and France he might still be leading the championship."
"Hamilton had to go for it but he might wish he had followed his teammate Kovalainen's example and not tried to make up all the ground in the opening lap," the newspaper considered.
"I was ahead but I lost the back, corrected it and went over the kerb, which I don't particularly see as cheating," Hamilton said in his defense, although he acknowledged that
"rules are rules."
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McLaren plays down talk of FIA-witch-hunt
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The broken pipe on Raikkonen's Ferrari eventually
tore loose in a high-G turn
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McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has played down speculation the British team believes it is being targeted for unfair treatment by F1's governing body.
The Mercedes-powered outfit, handed a record $100m penalty by the FIA and kicked out of the constructors' standings last year for spying, has also been on the receiving end of a bevy of recent penalties.
Most recently, Lewis Hamilton was penalised for incidents during the Canadian and French Grand Prix, and Heikki Kovalainen moved back five places on the Magny-Cours grid for blocking in qualifying.
The
Daily Express newspaper points out that while stewards were quick to penalise Hamilton for cutting a chicane, "they did look leniently on Raikkonen's Ferrari as it sped round Magny-Cours with a piece of exhaust trailing which could have been deemed dangerous."
Staunch Max Mosley opponent Sir Jackie Stewart added on Monday:
"You can ask questions about the consistency with which penalties are applied. A lot of people - and not McLaren personnel - are saying that the FIA are more interested in finding faults at McLaren than at other teams."
When asked if he thought McLaren is being singled out due to its difficult relationship with Mosley, Hamilton said on Sunday: "I'm not going to answer that."
Team boss Ron Dennis, meanwhile, invited reporters to "draw your own conclusions" about anti-McLaren conspiracy theories.
"I'm sure Ron didn't indicate that really," said his deputy, Whitmarsh. "He had the frustrations that happen immediately after the race. We had three penalties this weekend, we have got to accept it and move on."
