Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Las Vegas, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lewis Hamilton 'absolutely slaughtered' after controversial TV show joke

F1 legend Lewis Hamilton is no longer as outspoken as he once was

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 24 February 2025 08:58

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Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton has conquered his rivals among the highly competitive pack seven times in his illustrious career to take home the drivers' world championship, but not without his fair share of controversy.

Hamilton may appear mellowed out after his 12-year stint racing for Mercedes, but in the past, the British icon's personality and playful nature have landed him in hot water.

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With just three weeks to go until the 2025 season opener at the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton is preparing for a potential comeback to the front of the grid following his move to Ferrari.

The 40-year-old has now officially left his former team, having raced with the Silver Arrows since 2013 where he earned six of his seven drivers' titles and contributed to Mercedes' record-breaking eight consecutive constructors' victories.

Ferrari will be Hamilton's third F1 team, with the British star having started his career in the sport with McLaren, where he won the championship in 2008 before moving to Mercedes in 2013, if he wins with the Scuderia, he would have achieved championship success with every outfit he has ever raced for.

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Lewis Hamilton won his maiden championship in 2008 with McLaren

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How Hamilton's TV controversy led to personality shift

Like many successful athletes, Hamilton's experience at the forefront of his sport has thrown both highs and lows his way, and whilst the racing legend has cemented his name in the history books for good, he hasn't been fully removed from controversy.

Whether it was the devastating decision from the officials that led to him losing out to Max Verstappen for the first time in 2021 or the arguably unnecessary scrutiny he faced over a jewellery dispute in the years that followed, Hamilton has plenty of experience in dealing with the FIA.

But one incident with the sport's governing body stands out in particular to Hamilton's former McLaren trainer, Matt Tait, who spoke exclusively to Jim Kimberley on behalf of GPFans.

More recently, Tait has worked with Verstappen's new Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson but in days gone by, he worked closely with a 'timid' Hamilton who had just burst onto the scene in his first full-time F1 seat with McLaren.

Speaking on his time with Hamilton and how the champion has changed since leaving the team, Tait said: "I'm not a big fan of some of the press and the way that they were like, 'He's the first black racing driver, he's this, he's that. We need him to meet this person, that person, that person. He's gonna be this icon, he's gonna be that icon.'

"The kid just wanted to race. Just let him race, you know? Stop making it about his color and stuff. Just the guy's brilliant in the car. Just let him go and race.

"And without a doubt, going from just a kind of semi-known GP2 driver to worldwide superstar and across all the media on every single programme, in every magazine, that had an effect on him. It had an effect."

Hamilton was thrust into the limelight when he joined F1 with McLaren in 2007

Tait continued to reveal how he felt his former driver had changed once their partnership ended, saying: "I left McLaren, and then I got asked to do a test six months later for Red Bull just because they were short on staff, for as a contractor sort of thing."

"I just did one test with Webber and Buemi in Hockenheim. And I ran into Lewis's trainer in the hotel lobby. And we were having a good chat and stuff.

"And Lewis came walking through the lobby. And I just saw him, and he looked like the shell of a lad that I'd met six months earlier.

"You know, bear in mind, we'd spent quite a lot of time together and stuff like that. He barely said a word to me because I was in Red Bull clothing, and he didn't know if he could trust me, you know?"

"Like he'd been shell-shocked. I wouldn't know personally how I would handle that amount of attention on my life."

What was Hamilton's Ali G joke?

After 12 of the most successful years a driver and team duo have ever experienced in the sport, Hamilton cemented his status as a superstar beyond F1, dipping his toes into work in the fashion industry and never shying away from much-needed activism around climate change and racial injustices.

Reflecting on a time when the F1 star was less guarded in his responses to the media, Tait recalled a widespread controversy triggered by Hamilton's past comments during a TV interview following a weekend to forget at the 2011 Monaco GP.

"Do you ever remember the Ali G comment that he made? It went big time. For something so, he got absolutely slaughtered for it, from many people.

Lewis Hamilton managed to relax more after joining Mercedes

"And I think at that point, he just went, 'Fine, I'm going to give you stock answers.' And that's it. I think he just then removed his personality and kept his personality for his private life until he felt more comfortable again to then be himself within the sport."

The comments in question were made by Hamilton following a dismal weekend in Monaco where the officials had slapped him with three punishments in two days.

When asked by F1 pundit Lee McKenzie what he felt it was that made him so 'magnetic' to the stewards, Hamilton joked: "Maybe it's because I'm black, that's what Ali G says, I don't know."

Pinpointing his move to Mercedes and the freedom the team offered as the catalyst for his further personality change, Tait said: "Feeling comfortable in his own skin. That's my interpretation of his journey and things. But, you know, other people will know better than me. They spent more time with him during his career. So, yeah, but I've got nothing but good stuff to say about Lewis."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here she realised her background in journalism and love of motorsport could be combined, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work more closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan which she hopes to build on.

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