LEWIS HAMILTON’S former sporting director has denied claims that the Mercedes star is a “soiled” driver.
The seven-time System One world champion is at the moment enduring a depressing marketing campaign following final season’s disappointment.
Lewis Hamilton’s former chief has denied the Brit is a ‘soiled’ driverCredit score: Getty
Nevertheless, earlier than these troubles, the 38-year-old was concerned in common battles and incidents with rival Max Verstappen.
These reached a boiling level in 2021 earlier than the Brit missed out on a record-breaking eighth within the heartbreaking Abu Dhabi 2021 finale.
Hamilton and his foe, who’s at the moment topping this 12 months’s championship, had a lot of crashes because the likes of Silverstone, Monza and Saudi Arabia.
Each drivers didn’t conceal their anger in direction of the opposite’s antics and with many labelling their actions “reckless” and “soiled”.
However Sam Michael, who has held senior positions with F1 constructors Williams and McLaren instructed the Past the Grid podcast: “Some folks want the boldness to say that there’s another cause why they didn’t carry out.
“They need to course of it in order that they’re the very best and I get that their ego and confidence requires them to say one thing else will need to have occurred for me to not win that race or for me to do that or that.
“Having mentioned that, I don’t assume Lewis was like that from my expertise of working with Lewis at McLaren.
“As a result of there’s a draw back to being like that which is that you could be not correctly course of your weaknesses and I’d need to say Lewis is excellent at that.”
Michael added: “I don’t assume I’ve ever seen him do one thing that you simply assume ‘that was soiled’.
“Even trying on the current stuff with him and Max, he goes out of his option to not do stuff.
“So he [Verstappen] would possibly do issues the place [he’s] placing the automotive right into a place the place it’s like ‘you do that and we crash.’ You don’t see Lewis try this to you.”
Hamilton will likely be hoping to bounce again from his disappointing begin to this season at this weekend’s Monaco GP.