Breaking news
Formula 1
Hamilton better off being "polarising" than "boring" - Wolff
Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff says that it’s a positive if Lewis Hamilton polarises opinion, as that's better than if the five-time world champion was “boring.”
Adam Cooper
Edited: Jul 23, 2019, 2:31 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Wolff’s comments came in the light of a debate over Hamilton’s popularity in his home country, sparked by a controversial question regarding the perception of his 'Britishness' in a press conference at his local race.
“I think certainly racing in front of his home crowd in Silverstone he wants to do particularly well,” said Wolff. “And that puts an additional tension and intensity into the situation.
“For me many of the best sports stars in the world, they polarise. You will have heard similar comments about Serena Williams. Half of the people love her and want her to win everything, and the other ones cheer for the opponents.
“And I think you'd rather polarise than be down the middle and boring. That's my opinion.”
Hamilton was defended on social media by former footballer Rio Ferdinand, who said that the questions and criticism the F1 champion has faced were steeped in "racist undertones".
“I can understand his opinion and he has a right to that,” said Hamilton when told of Ferdinand’s message. “I think it’s not a route that I particularly want to go down.
“Every day is an opportunity to elevate and to shine and to do something new. My mum’s white, my dad’s black. I’ve got the best of both worlds. I’ve got supporters from all religions, all different ethnic backgrounds, and I love that hopefully I’m a part of helping bring people together that perhaps wouldn’t be together in the past.
“I’ve got fans that have met each other at a race, proposed in front of my car. I’ve got fans that have different groups around the world who have met people in their city and connected and watched the grands prix together and they would never have met before without me being here. And I’m really, really proud of that.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mercedes teases special anniversary livery for German GP
Next article Mercedes takes fewest softs for Hungarian GP
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton: Kimi Antonelli “deserves to be the champion”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
19 h
Lewis Hamilton: Kimi Antonelli “deserves to be the champion”
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
More from
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
5 h
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
17 h
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
Latest news
Marc Marquez: “In the first half of 2026, all I wanted to do on Sundays was lie on the sofa”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
Marc Marquez: “In the first half of 2026, all I wanted to do on Sundays was lie on the sofa”
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
47 min
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe