Lewis Hamilton: F1 must respond to Naomi Osaka incident and guide rookies on media "pit"

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton: F1 must respond to Osaka incident and guide rookies on media "pit"

Hamilton has shone a spotlight on pressure after tennis star's mental health issues

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Thursday 3 June 2021 15:38

Lewis Hamilton feels F1 must support young rookie drivers to better deal with the sport’s media "pit” after praising tennis star Naomi Osaka for standing up to the mental pressures faced by modern athletes.

The 23-year-old former world number one pulled out of the French Open this week in the wake of the controversy created by her decision not to speak to the media during the tournament, citing mental health issues.

Following a first-round victory, the organisers caused a storm by fining Osaka for not fulfiling her media obligations and threatening her with expulsion from future tournaments if she continued to maintain her position.

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Hamilton has revealed to suffering similar pressures in his early days in F1 due to a lack of assistance in how to deal with the sport’s media. The seven-time champion has warned F1 must handle things more correctly to avoid a similar issue.

“The fact is, when you’re young and you’re thrown into the limelight it weighs heavily and most of us are not prepared," said the Mercedes driver.

“I remember when I got to Formula 1 and the team [McLaren] had PR [but] I was never prepared for being thrown in front of the camera, I was never guided as to what to look out for, or helped to navigate through that.

“You just kind of learn through mistakes and it was incredibly nerve-wracking, especially when you have all good intentions and people take advantage of it. So, I think she was incredibly brave.

“I applaud her for her bravery because I think it’s now asking those in power and making them think about how they react because I think the way they reacted was not good, with the fine.

“Someone talking about their personal mental health and then be fined for it, that isn’t cool. They could have definitely handled that better I’m sure, but I hope they take a deep dive into it and find a better way to navigate the future.”

Osaka backlash "ridiculous" - Hamilton

Despite his success, Hamilton claims he is still learning how to deal with different pressures as he continually tackles various situations throughout his career.

Asked if F1 could do things differently he added: “I’ve learned the hard way, made many a mistake and I still do today. It can be daunting still, standing behind a camera, it’s not the easiest, particularly if you’re an introvert.

“I am trying to continue to learn how I engage but as I said, when I was young I was thrown into the pit and I wasn’t given any guidance or support.

“What I do know is when youngsters are coming in they’re facing the same things as I did and I think we need to be supporting them more.

“It shouldn’t be a case when you’re pressured. There are scenarios where, because you speak up, like Naomi’s scenario, she didn’t feel comfortable for her own personal health not to do something and the backlash is ridiculous.

“People are not taking into account that she’s a human being and she’s saying ‘I’m not well enough to do this right now’ and I think that needs to be really looked into, as to how people react to that and be supporting and uplifting to her.”