10 December 2023 , 12:08
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Mercedes have been forced to deny claims Lewis Hamilton gave away his third-place trophy to a fan at the FIA's annual prize giving gala in Azerbaijan.
Hamilton finished third this season behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez and flew to Baku to collect his award, with Formula 1 rules stating that the top three drivers must attend the event.
The 38-year-old was the first driver on stage to pick up his trophy, but there was some controversy following the gala when a fan who had also been in attendance claimed on social media that Hamilton gave him the award.
The fan, who had previously posted pictures of them alongside Verstappen at the event, shared a snap of the trophy seemingly on display in their home. "Hello. I was at the Gala yesterday. Lewis Hamilton gave me the award and left. I have the prize at home now," they wrote.
However, Mercedes have disputed this, claiming Hamilton left the award with officials. In a statement, they said: "Just to clarify some of the speculation on social media regarding Lewis' P3 trophy.
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"Immediately after leaving the stage, and as has been done at previous prize-givings, Lewis accepted the offer from officials for the trophy to be sent on to the team and therefore left it in their care. We can confirm he did not give the trophy to anyone 'as a gift' as has been speculated."
A fan claimed on social media that Hamilton gave him the awardHamilton also hit out at the FIA while at the gala, criticising their "unacceptable" investigation into Toto and Susie Wolff. The FIA briefly investigated claims of a "conflict of interest" between the pair, with Toto Mercedes' team principal and Susie the managing director of the F1 academy.
The investigation was quickly dropped after all the other F1 teams denied making a complaint, but Hamilton is not happy with the way the FIA handled things. "Disappointing to see the governing body questioning the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders we've had in our sport, without questioning, without any evidence, then just saying sorry at the end, that's just unacceptable," he fumed.
"There is a constant fight to really improve diversity and inclusion within the industry, but it seems there are certain individuals within the leadership of the FIA that every time we make a step forward they're trying to pull us back and that has to change."