Wolff urges Hamilton to 'rethink' political tactics

Mercedes Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton should refrain from expressing his political views on social media.

Hamilton took a clear stance earlier this week when he defended the peaceful 'take a knee' protests by players of the NFL during the playing of the national anthem in the US.

Yesterday, the British driver posted a video which had gone viral on Instagram depicting a small dog humping a Donald Trump doll. The video was soon deleted however.

"I did not and I would not have removed it," Hamilton told Sky Italia at Sepang.

Rumors claim that his social media manager was ordered by Mercedes to take down the controversial post.

• Lewis Hamilton defends 'take a knee' NFL protests

Wolff was later asked if Hamilton's political views could have ramifications for Mercedes and its driver at next month's US Grand Prix.

"This is a very controversial and polarising story," Wolff told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I wouldn't want to get involved in politics.

"Lewis' feelings about human rights are very strong and I think he wanted to show that and probably Instagram as the communication channel is something that he needs to rethink.

But I can relate to his feelings," Wolff said.

"I think one of the most important things in the US is that you have the right to express your opinion and I would want to leave it there.

"I think we are here as sport teams and sports should unite and I'm not sure that is happening everywhere in the world. So I would rather lead by example and not comment on politics," he added.

The temptation for Mercedes might be to tell Hamilton to stay out of politics, but Wolff said that approach will not work with the 32-year-old driver.

"The more you try to limit him - put him in a box - the more detrimental it will be for his performance," he told the Telegraph.

"The old mentality of 'a racing driver has to be like this or like that' is invalid for Lewis."

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