Hamilton justifies social media purge by 'clean slate' start

Lewis Hamilton says wiping his social media accounts clean at the beginning of the year was a long-planned decision from his management team.

The four-time world champion came under heavy criticism in December when a video posted to his Instagram account depicted the Mercedes driver chastising his young nephew for dressing up with a princess dress.

The post caused a massive backlash on the internet which was followed shortly after by apologetic comments from Hamilton before the superstar deleted all content from both Instagram and Twitter.

Queried on the subject at this week's launch of Mercedes' new W09 car, Hamilton said the timing of the social media purge was coincidental and had no link to the controversial video featuring his nephew.

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"We always planned at the end of the year to start a clean slate at the beginning of this year. It just so happened that it turned out to be an opportunistic time to change it," Hamilton said.

"It’s always difficult to make a change because I’m quite happy. But we are in a very strange time in the world where things are magnified more than perhaps they were in previous years, so it’s a critical time for the world."

Despite the backfire which occurred, Hamilton insisted he would continue to offer fans some insight into his private life, albeit with a few tweaks.

"For me personally, I think I’ll continue to show what I am doing. I think it’s just about being maybe a little more strategic in what I do or don’t show.

"It is a gateway to connect my fans in a way that I am not able to do at race weekends, so it will continue to be a part of my life."

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