Lewis Hamilton Thought FIA were Purposely Targeting Him

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is currently one of the most successful Formula One drivers. His success came rushing in ever since he joined the Mercedes team in 2013. However, in a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger, he alleged that there was a conspiracy against him.

The Briton made his Formula One debut in 2007 with McLaren, but lost the championship that year by a single point. But he redeemed himself a year later in an epic finale in Brazil, breaking the heart of Felipe Massa and the home crowd.

However, Lewis Hamilton alleged that there were strange penalties levied against him in his early days. Speaking to Bensinger he said, “It was really traumatising because I lost it for a second, in the last corner I got the championship,”

He continued, “And also I had a lot of penalties given to me in those two years through no fault of my own Just through some strange things that were going on in the business. Almost like anything to stop me from succeeding.”

For him, the most glaring example was the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix at a soggy Spa Francorchamps. At that time, he was stripped of his win after the race for “cutting a corner and gaining an advantage”. This verdict convinced him that the FIA had “screwed” him.

He also spoke about winning his first F1 title back in the 2008 season. “When I finally succeeded it was a great feeling but we just rolled on to the next year,” he said.

“I think just also at 23 I guess I just wasn’t mature enough to grasp everything that was going on and go and enjoy it.”

“I wasn’t prepared for the media. I didn’t have media lessons, how to speak to camera, how to speak to people.”

In conclusion, he admitted, “I just arrived and I was thrown in the deep end without any lessons. And I just handled it the best I could.”