Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Hamilton slaps down criticism of his lifestyle

Ever since he sealed his third world championship in 2015, Lewis Hamilton has found himself under attack from critics claiming that over the intervening months he's allowed his focus to drift away from Formula One, giving team mate Nico Rosberg the chance to get an edge on him on the track.

In an interview with German's Auto Moto und Sport, the 31-year-old hit back and said that there was nothing wrong with enjoying life and that it didn't mean he was any less committed or hungry to clinch a fourth title this season.

"I don't know exactly how this opinion is formed," he said. "Everyone has their own way of working, but I'm certainly not taking it easy at the track or driving the car.

"I haven't got to be a triple world champion just through luck," he insisted. "There's a reason I can show that number of race wins. I prepare at home before in my room, or on the flight.

"Do I enjoy my life? Absolutely! You can call it as you want. All people are different. It's good when a character is unique," he continued. "There are still far too many people who think that they have to adapt to be accepted. The more people who break out of this bubble and find themselves, the better."

Hamilton said that he wasn't about to change the way he interacts with fans through social media. "Many drivers are not at all active in social media, but I like to communicate with the fans."

Because of the TV licensing rights around Formula 1, Hamilton has been told not to distribute Snapchat videos from the paddock. However, he said that there had been no criticism from within the Mercedes team about his social media activity, even from team bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda.

"No, this team is led by people who are young in spirit and understand my attitude. They know that it's a cool way of communicating. It brings the brand attention.

"We just have great people on this team. I don't tell Toto that he should pull his shirt out of his pants. Even Niki is a super-cool part of this team ... He believes that if you stay true to yourself then that delivers the best results. Toto, Niki, Dr Zetsche [Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars] - all think the same way here."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.