05 April 2023 , 14:57
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Lando Norris had to hide his face as he couldn't stop laughing after accidentally claiming Lewis Hamilton was an eight-time world champion.
The Brit is a regular on Twitch as thousands of Formula 1 fans flock to watch him speak whenever he is streaming. So the McLaren racer knew there were plenty of people who heard him make a faux pas when referencing to his compatriot.
Referring to one of the racing helmets on the screen behind him, Norris pointed and said: "This one here? That's from when Lewis won his eighth world champ..." before stopping – fully aware of what he had just said – and hiding his face from view of the camera.
Even when he resurfaced, Norris was laughing too much to correct himself for a while longer. And that's because he would have known full well that the result of that 2021 race remains a sore spot for Hamilton fans, due to the way Max Verstappen was able to win the championship in Abu Dhabi.
It's hardly the first time Hamilton has been referred to as an eight-time champion in a public forum. Whether on purpose or by accident, there have been several examples of it happening in the past few months alone.
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Lewis Hamilton won his seventh Formula 1 World Championship in 2020 (Getty Images)Even Verstappen's team boss Christian Horner made the error when speaking to reporters in Bahrain last month. "Obviously he had a horrible weekend but he's still an eight-time world champion," the Red Bull chief said, before explaining he has "forgot Nico Rosberg won one" when he was corrected.
A few weeks later, at a Mercedes sponsor event in Malaysia between the races in Saudi Arabia and Australia, Hamilton was the guest of honour at the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. When introduced to the stage he was referred to as the "eight-time world champion", sparking thunderous applause.
And there was a similarly enthusiastic response in the Brazilian Congress chamber last year as Hamilton was receiving his honorary citizenship. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, said the Brit had become champion eight times and asserted that he had been "robbed" in that Abu Dhabi race.
Lira also described Hamilton as "a Briton by birth and a Brazilian by heart" and called him "a hero for all Brazilians". He added: "Brazilian role models like [Ayrton] Senna and Hamilton make us sure that every Brazilian can overcome challenges and win the races in life. I hope you return many times to this country that is also your country now."