The word aura would be perfect to describe Lewis Hamilton’s presence in the F1 paddock today. When he walks, everything around him seems to stop. But that doesn’t mean the seven-time champ hasn’t had his share of weird moments.
One such incident took place during the 2020 Australian GP weekend when a story Hamilton posted on his Instagram became an instant classic in F1 meme culture.
At the time, no one knew whether the race would go ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic was spreading rapidly in March of that year, and concerns were growing about the virus affecting members of the paddock. Hamilton, however, was simply amazed by where he was.
The Briton posted a screenshot from his Google Maps application, which pinpointed his location in Melbourne—an entirely expected result, given that he was indeed there. However, for some reason, Hamilton found this rather surprising.
“Wow, this blue dot is where I am in the world”, he wrote, which led to many fans mocking him on social media. Even in the following years, it went on to become an endearing moment for many Hamilton supporters who have shared the same screenshot ahead of every Australian GP weekend.
“It’s that time of the year…” one fan reminded the 40-year-old, tagging him in a screenshot of his story on X (formerly Twitter). Many others chimed in, reminiscing about the moment and sharing how it still makes them laugh.
it’s that time of the year @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/NHAjNkjjFB
— Ari is at the AUSGP 🏁 (@plusariworld) March 10, 2025
“I laugh every time I see this on the tl [timeline],” another fan stated.
“He kills me,” a user wrote, accompanied by two crying emojis—now a staple reaction for expressing any emotion on social media, whether laughter, joy, sadness, or embarrassment. That was certainly the case among Hamilton’s fanbase.
I laugh every time i see this on the tl 😂
— Nola Darling (@NolaDarling250) March 10, 2025
This incident highlights how Hamilton used to be quite candid on social media. However, there were times when this led to controversy, which is likely why he has toned down his social media activity over the years.
Hamilton’s social media dilemma
During his final season at McLaren in 2012, Hamilton did something bizarre—he tweeted screenshots of the team’s confidential telemetry from Belgian GP qualifying, where his teammate Jenson Button had taken pole.
Naturally, this didn’t sit well with McLaren and Button, who immediately asked him to take it down. The image contained crucial details about the car’s acceleration, ride height, and other technical aspects. Rival teams could easily analyze where McLaren was extracting performance and develop countermeasures for the rest of the season.
Even engineers from other teams on the grid were baffled that Hamilton had shared such sensitive data publicly.
Telemetry data from Hamilton and Button Spa 2012, McLaren nor Button was pleased that Hamilton shared the data, Jenson with the new rear wing which gave him an advantage of 0.4 over Lewis #F1 #Formula1 #retrogp #f1retro @UnracedF1 @thebaldbloke @JanJoostFolmer @MarcoBr53061365 pic.twitter.com/D7DStv2TIe
— kris van Ditshuizen (@KrisVanD2) May 14, 2021
Eventually, Hamilton left McLaren at the end of the season after four frustrating years following his maiden title triumph in 2008. At Mercedes, he avoided such social media controversies, and his on-track success with the Silver Arrows speaks for itself.
As his public relations and management circle evolved, Hamilton also matured, becoming more diplomatic on social media, in press conferences, and during interviews.
