19 January 2024 , 16:04
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Lewis Hamilton lived up to his fashionable reputation as he stepped out at a star-studded fashion show in Paris, after yet more public criticism from former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The Dior Menswear show in the French capital attracted a swathe of household names from across industries. And F1 was represented by Hamilton who once again showed off his trendy side as he arrived in style.
The 39-year-old wore a V-neck shirt underneath a brown blazer with a matching pair of trousers. He also wore a pair of red-tinted sunglasses as he smiled warmly and waved to fans.
And Hamilton was far from the only Brit who turned heads at the event. Singer Rita Ora turned up in a white turtleneck while model Kate Moss arrived with her daughter in a light blue sleeveless top.
Hamilton's attendance comes after enduring the latest barrage from Ecclestone. Speaking to German newspaper Bild, the 93-year-old heaped praise upon Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team while sticking the knife into Hamilton and his struggling Mercedes outfit.
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He said: "[Red Bull] have patiently endured Mercedes dominance, replacing each weak link one by one, developing the best team, the best design, the best car and the best driver. Christian Horner has done an excellent job.
"Max is currently the benchmark in every field. You could also put him in a McLaren, and probably a Ferrari or a Mercedes, and he would still win. Hamilton failed a bit and [George] Russell wasn't as good as he thought he was either. Still, they shouldn't have lost so dramatically."
Hamilton showed off his legendary fashion sense at the Dior show (Getty Images)Criticism of Hamilton from Ecclestone's mouth is far from an irregular occurrence. Most notably, he defended Nelson Piquet in 2022 after it emerged that the Brazilian former F1 champion had referred to the Mercedes star by using a racist slur on more than one occasion.
Speaking with passion ahead of that year's British Grand Prix, Hamilton called for the 'old voices' of the sport to stop being given a platform. "In the last couple of weeks, I don't think a day has gone by when someone who has not been relevant in our sport for decades has not been saying negative things and trying to bring me down," he said.
"But I am still here and still standing strong. I'm focused on my work and pushing for diversity and inclusion in our sport. It's now a knee-jerk reaction from companies all round the world. When something like this happens, they probably already have - I am not saying we do - PR people ready with a script for something like that.
Hamilton's appearance comes after another barrage of public criticism from Bernie Ecclestone (AFP via Getty Images)"Crisis management. It's not enough. Now it's time for actual real action. Formula 1, the media, we should not be giving these people a platform. I've always tried to be respectful to these individuals but why did we give these guys a platform? They are not with the time, they are not willing to change.
"These micro-aggressions and racial undertones are just creating more divides. I love when Michelle Obama says when they go low, we go high so I try to do that. I'm still here and it’s not going to deter me from doing what is right and doing what I love, which is working in this sport."
Referring to separate comments from Ecclestone defending Vladimir Putin after launching his invasion of Ukraine, Hamilton added: "To hear from someone that ultimately believes in the war and in the displacement of millions of people and in the killing of thousands of people, to hear from someone who supports the person who is doing it... that is beyond me. I can't believe that is what I heard today."