In this day and age, there’s enormous competition between media houses to get the most engaging content out for more click and views. This ‘unhealthy’ competition has its grip in F1 too and stars like Lewis Hamilton suffer as a result. Former Ferrari man Peter Windsor, in his recent interview with Cameron F1, pointed this out and spoke about how the seven-time world champion often faced media bullying.
Hamilton, being the most successful and popular F1 driver, has boundless weight in his words. Therefore, his statements are of extreme importance to the media houses, something they long for endlessly. Therefore, they often go beyond their professional boundary to extract ‘content’ and in doing so, end up ‘abusing’ Hamilton and other drivers in the process.
Windsor said,
“He’s [Hamilton] been abused so many times by stupid questions from journalists who just want to provoke him into saying something that they can misquote and put in a big black bold headline. He’s just given up really talking to the press in any sort of meaningful way and it’s very sad that the press these days has done that.”
Hamilton is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, and this part of his persona is heavily respected by the media and fans alike. His achievements speak for themselves, so no one can question his immense talent. On the other hand, he has several ventures he tends to focus on outside of F1.
Hamilton has often shared his thoughts about veganism. climate change and racism, and is quite outspoken. Additionally, he has a huge celebrity status, and hangs out with some of the biggest stars in the world, both inside and outside the world of sports. His interviews and quotes related to similar topics often leads to him facing a slew of negative coverage.
Lewis Hamilton’s negative coverage shows how much media has changed
While explaining the plight Lewis Hamilton faces by the media, Peter Windsor spoke about an incident that involved the great Jim Clark. Windsor unraveled how the late British F1 driver won the 1963 French Grand Prix and decided to have a different day at office.
Clark, after winning the race, crossed the track and walked up to the press center filled with journalists. He, instead of going for the traditional post-race interview, went for a quiet little chat with them. This is something the drivers in Formula 1 cannot think of now.
Don’t ever forget your power. Don’t ever forget your purpose. Don’t ever forget that I’m rooting for you. pic.twitter.com/yKHdD3BUPa
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 14, 2022
Windsor, who has vast experience working with the media in Formula 1 also shared his disappointment about how his field has changed, but not for good. According to him, it has become vicious and “quite nasty.”
The side effects of this side of the media are sure to harm the next generation and take a toll on them. Peter Windsor concluded by saying how terrible media bullying has become. With this he also mentioned drivers, who are public figures, are also human beings and deserve privacy.
