Lando Norris has reopened the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi incident after he accidentally brands Lewis Hamilton, an eight-time world champion. With this, he joins the league of people who mistakenly made the Briton the 2021 world champion.
During a live stream on Twitch, the British driver revealed the details on the helmets behind him. In the process, he suddenly picked up the helmet that he wore in the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.
Lando Norris calling Lewis Hamilton an 8 time world champion.
We love to see it.pic.twitter.com/kpL8sCcuYt
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) April 4, 2023
Pointing towards the helmet, he said, “I have this one here, it’s from when Lewis won his eighth world championship…” Following this, he immediately realized his mistake and hid underneath the table.
Norris disappeared from the camera for about a good 15 seconds. But it was too late by then. The blunder not only sent shockwaves through fans on Twitter but also expected to make his best friend, Max Verstappen, unhappy.
Norris joins the league of Leclerc, Horner, and more
With his latest mistake, the McLaren driver joined the likes of Charles Leclerc, Christian Horner, Sergio Perez, Ted Kravitz, and co. who at least once regarded Hamilton as the eight-time world champion.
In an interview, Leclerc talked about having respect for the Silver Arrows star. In the process, he mistakenly referred to him as the eight-time world champion but then rectified himself.
Surprisingly, Horner did the same when speaking to the media about Hamilton. He referred to him as “Lewis Hamilton, the eight-time world champion.”
thread of formula 1 people saying lewis hamilton is an 8-time world champion because we know it, they know it. 🧵
— elle (@HAMLEWISIR) April 4, 2023
What came as more surprising was Sergio Perez’s blunder in calling the Briton as 2021 world champion. Despite helping his teammate Verstappen in Abu Dhabi, he forgot who the champion was in UAE.
Admittedly, the most notorious and famous error was from Ted Kravitz. The British commentator called the 38-year-old 8x champion twice until being boycotted by the Dutchman in the end.
Last but not least was the recent Petronas-sponsored event before the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, where the host made the same mistake. Does this mean they are unofficially holding Lewis Hamilton as the greatest of all time with eight world championships? Well, we don’t know.
Norris’ blunder comes after Mercedes sponsored event error
Before the McLaren driver made the online blunder, a recent event sponsored by the Silver Arrows also made the similar error of calling the British driver the eight-time world champion.
The 38-year-old British megastar was the chief guest at Universiti Teknologi Petronas. Petronas, the title sponsor for the Brackley-based team, invited the star driver over. This was when the Briton was in Malaysia before his tour to Melbourne.
Everything seemed to be fine with the event until the show’s host introduced him as the eight-time world champion. The host said, “UTP, could you please put your hands together and your phones down for eight-time world champion Lewis Hamilton,” much to the surprise of the people present there.
