[PapaofGags]

Yamaha had to restrain eager Hamilton during ride swap. (Motorsport) 
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Yamaha MotoGP team director Massimo Meregalli has revealed the team had to “stop” an eager Lewis Hamilton from going out on track too early during his ride swap with Valentino Rossi last year.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Meregalli recalled how eager Hamilton was to get going – to the point where he had to be stopped from going out on track too early due to the dangerously low circuit temperatures.

"Well, it was a nice day,” Meregalli said of the ride swap event. "They thought it was just a promotional opportunity, but it wasn't like that. Vale was put in the position to do some good practice shifts at the wheel of the Mercedes.

“He [Hamilton] showed up to the circuit very early and we had to stop him because he wanted to get on the bike at 9am, but it was cold.

“Then we had to change all the programme, because Vale arrived a little late and they wanted Lewis to get on the track as soon as possible, but we told him that in Valencia in December before 11am was not possible.

Hamilton suffered a small crash during that particular outing, and reportedly had a small off during his MotoGP run. But his performance on the bike impressed Yamaha bosses then, with Meregalli admitting that day did nothing to “hurt him”.

"He had ridden a motorcycle only eight times before getting on a MotoGP bike, so in my opinion what he did didn’t hurt him,” Meregalli added.

“Then it is clear that we tried to put [the bike] in the best conditions, with a wet [engine] map and with tyres that were not the ones we normally use, also because we could not use them by regulation.

“It was windy, it was cold, so the conditions were not ideal, but he stopped only when we showed him the chequered flag."

[PapaofGags]

Hamilton fumes at Marko to "wake up" after being saddened and offended by comments.

Lewis Hamilton has ripped into Helmut Marko after the Red Bull advisor apparently suggested the six-time Formula 1 world champion had become distracted by the anti-racism Black Lives Matter campaign.

Marko is reported to have told German tv station RTL: “Whilst some drivers are distracted, talking about lives which matter, the only thing that matters to Max [Verstappen] is the world championship. His training has been optimised for this and he is ready to go."

Hamilton has rightly taken offence at what appears to be a highly insensitive remark, although the comment is understood to be in dispute.

Via his Instagram account, Hamilton's sharply worded response read: "Helmut, it deeply saddens me that you consider fighting for equal treatment of black people and people of colour, a distraction. I'm actually quite offended.

"A distraction for me was fans showing up in black face to taunt my family on race weekends."    

"A distraction for me was the unnecessary and additional adversity and unfair treatment I faced as a child, teen, and even now, due to the colour of my skin."

"I hope this speaks volumes to the few people of colour you do have on your team, about your priorities and how you view them. Wake up. This sport needs to change."

[forzaferrari]

Yeah Paps, Ive been reading about this today.....a f1 journo who does a lot of translation for the bigger f1 news outlets has said that at no time did Helmet mention, or was asked about the subject in the interview dated June 5.........here`s the tweet which has now been removed from Lewis`s account. (Im not sure which side is in the right or wrong on this one.........either Helmet is a proper, er... helmet or Lewis hasnt fact checked and jumped the gun)

   

[PapaofGags]

Yeah Paps, Ive been reading about this today.....a f1 journo who does a lot of translation for the bigger f1 news outlets has said that at no time did Helmet mention, or was asked about the subject in the interview dated June 5.........here`s the tweet which has now been removed from Lewis`s account. (Im not sure which side is in the right or wrong on this one.........either Helmet is a proper, er... helmet or Lewis hasnt fact checked and jumped the gun)

Well one of them's made a tit of themselves, not like either of them make a habit of it lol   

[PapaofGags]

Publisher of Helmut Marko quotes that angered Hamilton admits story was false.

Quotes alleging Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko felt Mercedes Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was 'distracted' by the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign have been confirmed as fake by the original publisher.

The quotes, which angered many people, not least Hamilton himself, were circulated on Wednesday morning.

In response to the apparent accusations from Marko against him, Hamilton published a response on social media, saying, "Helmut, it deeply saddens me that you consider fighting for equal treatment of black people and people of colour, a distraction. I'm actually quite offended."

However, both the story containing the original quotes, the website in question attributing them to an interview that took place with German broadcaster RTL, and a story containing Hamilton's response, have been removed from the site.

In their place, and dominating the home page, is a piece entitled, 'Dr Helmut Marko - An Apology'.

It reads: "Earlier today we published an article containing quotes attributed to Dr Helmut Marko. The quotes attributed to him were incorrect. The source of the information was not ‘RTL’ and instead a parody Twitter account.
It was wrong for us to publish the news story without first establishing the veracity of the information. We sincerely apologise to Dr Helmut Marko and to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing."

So more bollox then, feck I need some racing...…  

[forzaferrari]

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says that Lewis Hamilton's angry reaction to quotes that were wrongly attributed to him was "understandable", as he revealed the matter had now been dealt with privately.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/marko...a/4808588/

....so yet another faux pas from Hamilton then.....imo I think Lewis should do the right thing & publicly apologise to Helmut (even if he is a bellend) on the same platforms he made the wrongful accusations.

[PapaofGags]

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says that Lewis Hamilton's angry reaction to quotes that were wrongly attributed to him was "understandable", as he revealed the matter had now been dealt with privately.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/marko...a/4808588/

....so yet another faux pas from Hamilton then.....imo I think Lewis should do the right thing & publicly apologise to Helmut (even if he is a bellend) on the same platforms he made the wrongful accusations.

"Once RTL was sure the quotes were fake, the Red Bull team and Marko himself then separately contacted Hamilton.

"[Christian] Horner sent an SMS to Hamilton," said Marko. "He erased his posts."

Marko himself later sent an email to Hamilton, to which he says the Mercedes driver "also replied"

While Marko will not reveal what Hamilton wrote, he said that as far as he was concerned, the matter was dealt "in good faith"

Reflecting on the events, Marko said that he could sympathise with Hamilton being annoyed if he had believed he was being criticised for his recent stance on racism.

"He is emotionally very involved," added Marko. "As a racing driver, he is not obliged to do research whether this is true or not. In that respect, his reaction is understandable to me."

What Marko found less excusable was the way a website had reported completely made-up quotes to misrepresent him and the Red Bull team."

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I've got two takes on this, to me one much more surprising & happy than the other, certainly looks like Lewis jumped the gun, part of me cant blame him with all the BLM stuff going on, lets face it I've been duped by what I've read online many times.

"Marko will not reveal what Hamilton wrote"  Honestly it would suprise me if Lewis did not apologuise to Helmut & Red Bull as his source was clearly bullshit, lets say i would very much hope that he did.

I'm not that suprised Lewis was duped, I was very pleasantly suprised by Helmuts reaction & his words, he has kept the conversation private & understands where Lewis was comming from, even to the point of defending his actions.


Many many times I've been irked by "the helmut" but today I've seen another side of him.

I suspect Lewis will have that feeling we have all had when we wake up after a heavy night & think "I didn't really do that did I?" (except he was sober hehe)

[morini]

Many many times I've been irked by "the helmut" but today I've seen another side of him.

I suspect Lewis will have that feeling we have all had when we wake up after a heavy night & think "I didn't really do that did I?" (except he was sober hehe)

Massive fuss about nothing, as usual. Yes Helmut Marko handled this in the correct way this time, but that doesn't mean he isn't a despisable, shit stirring little ewok! Because he certainly is!

The only lesson to take out of this is "don't take anything you read on the internet at face value". I've said this before, but if I were Lewis Hamilton I would let my management team do all the social media updates. Doing it yourself in this day and age is asking for trouble as cyberspace is full of idiots who will scrutinize your every word and bend it to their own agenda. Doesn't matter to the likes of you and me, but it's a minefield if you are mega famous and in the public eye.

I would say he should steer well clear of social media completely but I guess it is a massive part of his "marketability". Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I for one sympathise with the bloke and also think the cause he is backing is worthy of the exposure. No such thing as bad publicity.

[forzaferrari]

Yeah, I agree with you both however I still stand by what I said previously, Lewis posted something (to millions worldwide) online that was proven to be factually incorrect and potentially harmful to not only a public figure but also a global brand, I am sure there was an apology privately but regardless, imo the right thing to do would be to use the same social media outlets to openly admit he was in the wrong, acted hastily without checking the facts and publicly apologise to Helmut.....just my take on it, and not because its Lewis....any other driver I would be of the same opinion.

[forzaferrari]

I know I give him endless amounts of sh*t but I send my sincere & heartfelt condolences to Lewis on the passing of his beloved Coco.