Lewis Hamilton issues defiant message to F1 media amid quit rumours: ‘Stop making up stuff'
Lewis Hamilton offered a strong message to the world's media in Canada on Thursday, amid speculation the 40-year-old may retire at the end of the current season.
Hamilton, who joined Ferrari in the off-season after 12 years and six world titles at Mercedes, is yet to record a podium in the first nine grands prix of the 2025 season.
The seven-time world champion is currently sixth in the championship standings, trailing championship leader Oscar Piastri by 115 points.
It has led to speculation in some quarters that Hamilton, who is on a two-year contract, may decide to call it a day at the end of this season, despite a regulation change in 2026. Yet Hamilton has dismissed those rumours out of hand.
'To everyone that's writing stories of me considering not racing, I literally only just started, my first year here with Ferrari and I'm here for several years,' he said, ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
'I'm here for the long haul. So, there is no question about where my head is at and what I'm working towards achieving with this team.
'There's zero doubts. So, please stop making up stuff.'
Ferrari's underwhelming start has also led to suggestions team principal Fred Vasseur could be removed from his role, with Red Bull's Christian Horner and Ferrari WEC (World Endurance Championship) boss Antonello Coletta linked with the job.
But Hamilton, who worked with Vasseur in junior formula prior to his F1 debut in 2007, came out staunchly in his defence of the Frenchman.
'It's definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that that are out there,' Hamilton said.
'Firstly, I love working with Fred. Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and got the opportunity to be here, which I'm forever grateful for.
'We're in this together. We're working hard in the background. Things aren't perfect but for me, as I said, I'm here to work with the team, but also with Fred.
'I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top.'
Hamilton will be eyeing an improved showing after a disappointing sixth-place finish in Spain last time out, at a circuit in Montreal where he won his first F1 race in 2007.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
High profile F1 driver steward axed for Canadian Grand Prix weekend
Derek Warwick has been suspended from his duties as a steward for this weekend's Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, after a number of controversial media interviews. The 70-year-old, who has four grand prix podiums, was due to serve as one of the stewards in Montreal but will now sit out the weekend after the FIA decided to suspend Warwick. Advertisement In previous days, quotes attributed to Warwick circulated by a gambling firm have been picked up by a number of websites criticising several current drivers, including Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda. 'Following recent unauthorised media comments, the FIA has taken the decision to suspend Derek Warwick from his duties as driver steward for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix,' an FIA statement read. 'He will be replaced by Enrique Bernoldi, who will be officiating from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva for the remainder of the event. 'After discussion, Derek acknowledges that his comments were ill-advised in his role as an FIA steward and has apologised. Derek will resume his duties as a steward in the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix.' Enrique Bernoldi Enrique Bernoldi Warwick becomes the second high-profile F1 steward to fall foul of providing syndicated quotes to a betting company this year. Advertisement Before the start of the 2025 season, Johnny Herbert's comments led to him being no longer considered as a steward for grand prix racing events, having filled the role for some years. There had been significant interest in Herbert's FIA role since late 2024, when he was part of the stewards' panel that twice penalised Red Bull driver Max Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix. In partnership with a betting company, Herbert then commented on the decisions handed down by the body. As well as his years in F1, Warwick also won the 1992 Le Mans 24 Hours and was crowned world sportscar champion in the same year. To read more articles visit our website.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
How a ‘little girl with a huge dream' made her way to Formula 1's Canadian Grand Prix
Most 16-year-olds are working on finding themselves. Some are learning to drive, many are nervously courting crushes and others are finding hobbies to distract themselves from the mundanity of school and adolescence. Mathilda Paatz has been focusing her attention on racing 240 kilometres an hour, thousands of miles from home, in a metronomically engineered car. She will race at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend as the wild-card driver in the F1 Academy , a female-only racing championship designed to feed promising young drivers into F2 and F3, the lower tiers of the international racing hierarchy. MONTREAL (AP) — Lance Stroll has been cleared to race at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend It's an unconventional track for a 16-year-old, but one that is firmly in Paatz's blood. A native of Cologne, Germany, she got into racing through her father, Michael, who drove primarily in endurance championships in Europe. As if she needed any more inspiration to get involved, her father's racing team bears her name: Mathilda Racing. 'It's always been a passion and I was always behind the wheel,' she told the Star. 'When I first got into a kart, I just felt like this is my spot, I want to do more, and so I kept going.' The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal is, in Paatz's words, a technical track that will be difficult to drive, especially for younger drivers. At just over four kilometres in length, it takes most fewer than two minutes per lap. Drivers zoom down its long straights and around the small lake in the centre of Île Notre-Dame, a man-made island in the Saint Lawrence River. It has been a part of the Formula One calendar since its opening in 1978 and has hosted the likes of Lewis Hamilton , Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher. MONTREAL - Max Verstappen knows he's at risk of a suspension. 'It's a street circuit, so the walls are quite close. You have to be very precise with the driving,' Paatz said, speaking hours after her pre-race walk-through. 'Everything happens really fast. It's quite a difficult track in my opinion, but I'm excited.' Paatz will be debuting a Gatorade-branded car and race suit to coincide with the drink company's announcement of a partnership with the F1 Academy that runs until 2030. The partnership, which is part of the brand's 'Fuel Tomorrow' initiative, is framed as a 'groundbreaking collaboration' intended to break down barriers in motorsport. The partnership allows Gatorade to 'bring our decades of sports science expertise directly to the next generation of elite drivers,' Umi Patel, Pepsico's vice president of marketing innovation and hydration brands Umi Patel said in a statement. 'By supporting young women at the start of their motorsport journey, we not just setting them up for success at such a pivotal part of their career, we are encouraging them to see what is in them and fuel their drive and ambition for success.' Paatz says that the course in Montreal is a technical and difficult one due to its tight, street-oriented structure. 'It's a great support driving here in F1 Academy,' Paatz said. 'Their support is very great and it's a great brand to work with. I'm very honoured.' Paatz won't be the youngest competitor in the race; she'll be racing against two other 16-year-olds, Australia's Joanne Ciconte and Denmark's Alba Larsen, who were born later than her. 'We've known each other for quite some time, when we made the first steps into single-seaters, so it's very nice to see them back on track,' she said. Her message to young women and girls interested in racing is simple: There are ample resources popping up to develop and nurture female drivers, and all it takes is a good attitude and a persistent work ethic. After all, she was once just a dreamer. 'When you look at me, I've also been just a little girl with a huge dream,' Paatz said. 'I want to make an idol for other girls by trying my best.'
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
FIA suspends steward for Canadian Grand Prix over Verstappen penalty comments
Formula 1's governing body has suspended a driver steward for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix over comments he made regarding a penalty Max Verstappen received two weeks ago. The FIA said Friday that Derek Warwick's comments were not authorized and he will be replaced by Enrique Bernoldi, who will officiate from the Remote Operations Centre in Geneva for the remainder of the weekend.
