Lewis Hamilton has insisted that he is not bothered by the frosty cooldown room conversation he had with Lando Norris at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, offering up an empathetic view of his fellow Brit’s frustrations.
Hamilton finished third at the Hungaroring while Norris was forced to hand the lead to team-mate Oscar Piastri after priority on the final pit stops allowed him to undercut his McLaren colleague. This left the 24-year-old frustrated in the cooldown room, where he came across the Mercedes driver.
“Whoo, you guys are fast,” Hamilton said to his fellow countryman. Norris then snapped back. “Yeah, well you had a fast car seven years ago.” The Mercedes driver maintained his tone, adding: ”Seven years ago? That’s a long time. Were you here seven years ago?” before Norris hit back: “You know, you had a quick car. You made the most of it, now it’s us.”
Norris received plenty of backlash as a result of this post-race exchange, but the McLaren driver arrived at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and made it clear that he regretted his general demeanour after the race in Hungary.
Hamilton was asked for his thoughts on the chat on Thursday in Belgium, and he replied: “It didn’t bother me, no. Look, I’m nearly 40 years old, I remember being in my mid-20s and I remember when I go back and look at things that I’ve said that I would say differently or reacted differently.
“And I know what it’s like when you come out of the race where you feel like you should’ve won and your emotions are spiralling so I see that and I’m like it’s an age thing! I think ultimately all of us drivers, we do put a lot of pressure on ourselves. That’s how we do what we do and I don’t think you can be particularly great without putting pressure on yourself.”
He later added: “And I don’t take it personally. There was a time when I didn’t leave my room for three days when I was his age so I know what it’s like.
“And that wasn’t healthy for me but I don’t think Lando’s locking himself in his room for three days, and I hope he doesn’t! I think what’s important is just continue to do what he’s doing, he’s driving great, they got a great car and just need to keep working together as a team.”
Not all members of the paddock were as immediately forgiving. 1996 world champion Damon Hill posted on the X social media platform: “Yeah. It was a bit weird though. Dismissive even? LH giving a typically generous and mature interpretation on it.”
