F1 | Azerbaijan GP | Hamilton on his Monaco comments: ''In the heat of the moment, you don't always say always the best things''
The British driver supports Osaka’s decision caused by media pressure, and highlights the importance of mental health in the sports world.
Lewis Hamilton was self-critical on how he presented himself to the press after Monaco GP, when he had expressed strong disappointment towards his team's work, during today's media session in Baku.
“I think naturally in the heat of the moment, you don't always say always the best things. I think constructive criticism is always a good thing, better said behind closed doors and that's what we've been doing."
He added that it wasn't only the team's fault, as he, being heavily involved in the decision-making process, could have brought up issues that "would have set a domino effect on."
“So we know that we could have done better and one race doesn't define us. Of course you always try and do better in the future. As I said, we win and we lose as a team so we will push forwards and hope for better.”
However, the Mercedes driver is completely focused on this race weekend, in which he believes he can improve last weekend's performance:
"It’s a slightly different circuit with different requirements,” said Hamilton. “And obviously the temperature difference is a bit different here this weekend. So I think a different set of challenges probably this weekend. I don't think necessarily [our performance will be] the same as we saw in the last [race].”
The British driver also expressed his support to young tennis star Naomi Osaka, who, after being fined for not taking part in media duties in order to preserve her mental health, as she had announced before the tournament, pulled out of the French Open at Roland Garros.
Mental health is not a joke, this is real and serious. This takes a lot of courage to do. Let's all make sure Naomi knows she's not alone. Today is a good day to check and ask your friends and loved ones how they are doing and let them know they are not alone. https://t.co/2ytC6k1hHd
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 1, 2021
He returned on the topic during today's press conference when asked about it, criticising how she was treated:
"She is an incredible athlete and human being, and her activism has been just so impactful. At such a young age there is so much weight on her shoulders, it's inevitable. The fact is when you are young you are thrown into the limelight and spotlight, it weighs heavily on you. The thing is most of us are not prepared."
"I think she is incredibly brave and I applaud her for her bravery because I think it's now asking those in power, putting them in question, and making them have to think about they react because I think the way they reacted was not good with the fine.
Hamilton hopes that similar issues in the future could be resolved "in better ways":
"Someone talking about their personal mental health, and then being fined for it, definitely wasn't cool. They could have definitely handled it better I'm sure and hope they take a deep dive into it and find a better way to navigate in the future. As athletes, we are pushing ourselves to the limit, we are on the edge, and we're only human beings."
Another hot topic was some teams' "bendy" wing and the advantage that it can give. Hamilton said, when asked on the topic, that what's important in the end it's his team's work, and to focus on their own performances, while hoping that similar issues in the future will be handled "better".
“I think regardless of what I think, it doesn't really make a difference. I'm not looking to get headlines with it. I heard about it, I spoke about it and the fact is that they passed the tests that are given for this weekend so we proceed in the way things are."
“Of course it is an advantage on the straights, it can give good time, but we'll just try and be the best we can with what we have and hopefully the future will be better in terms of how they measure these sorts of things," he concluded.
