Lewis Hamilton took a well earned and deserved break from social media following his controversial defeat at last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Social media continued to rumble on however, leading to threats against Williams driver Nicholas Latifi who’s late crash set in motion the chain of events which would cause Hamilton to lose his near-certain claim to the 2021 title.

When asked his opinion on the backlash and threats of violence directed at Latifi, Lewis Hamilton highlighted the importance of mental health and the poor management from social media companies which allow such abuse to remain on their platforms.

“I don’t think there’s been a huge change or shift, or enough work that’s been done by these social platforms,” said the seven time champion.

“We still have to apply pressure for them to make changes. Mental health is a real thing and through these social platforms, people are experiencing abuse and nobody deserves that. It should never be tolerated.

“They’re able to change these things and make changes but they don’t seem to do it quick enough so we need to continue to apply pressure.

“I was in touch with Nicholas [Latifi]. He has my full support and I know how difficult it can be in those situations and I think it’s important for him to know that he has support from people around him.”

Hamilton also defended and complimented his rival, Max Verstappen, saying he did what any driver would do in the given situation. He confirmed he as no hard feelings against Verstappen or the Red Bull team and is looking forward to another season of competition with them.

“This has nothing to do with Max [Verstappen],” said Hamilton. “Max did everything a driver would do given the opportunity he was given. He’s a great competitor and we will go into another battle like we did last year. We’ll obviously grow from our races and experiences we had last year throughout the season. But I have no issues with him, I don’t hold any grudges with anybody.”

Looking at the season to come, Hamilton discussed his drive for success as well as his new teammate, the highly rated George Russell. 

“I feel great, I feel fit,” said Hamilton with an air of confidence. “Naturally when you have an extra year of experience under your belt that always helps. I always feel like through these sort of experiences you can turn that emotion into strength and into power. That’s what I’m doing. I’m putting it into my training, I’m putting it into the work that I do with the men and women here in this team. If you think what you saw at the end of last year was my best, wait until you see this year.”

Discussing his new teammate Russell, Hamilton stated he fits into the team “like a glove” and says he looks forward to working with him and understands the pressure and emotions which Russell must be experiencing. 

“Of course he’s had an amazing run getting into Formula 1. He was already a part of our team so I’ve seen him around engineering. I’ve seen him at the simulator at times and obviously him being at Williams. So he fits in and fits the position like a glove. So far it’s great.

“I honestly think I’ve learned a lot in how to engage with your teammate and how to work as a team. Helping the team to achieve the ultimate goal, that’s one of the reasons we have more world titles than any other team. So I’m excited to engage with him, to collaborate with him. Hopefully our driving styles aren’t too dissimilar.

“I know also what it’s like for him being in this situation, up against a world champion. I know the pressures that come with it, the expectations and also the internal feelings. I want him to learn as much as he can and grow as much as he can. I have no doubts he’s gonna be a strong competitor.”