Hamilton reacts to 'disrespectful' comments amid recent struggles

Lewis Hamilton feels that he has received a lot of "disrespectful" comments in recent times, amid remarks from Helmut Marko suggesting that the Briton may wish he had retired last year.

With Hamilton and Mercedes enduring a difficult start to the 2022 campaign, various figures in the sport have given their take on the situation, and not all have been kind to Hamilton.

The team and driver had a particularly tough weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a race in which Hamilton was lapped by his former championship rival Max Verstappen.

After this, Marko made a dig at Hamilton in which he suggested that the seven-time World Champion may be regretting not walking away from Formula 1 in 2021.

Others to air their views include former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen, who questioned whether Hamilton may be considering moving teams due to Mercedes' struggles.

Hamilton expected "disrespectful comments"

Hamilton looked to have fired back at Marko's comments about his future in the sport via social media, when he posted an image to Instagram with the caption: "Working on my masterpiece. I'll be the one to decide when it's finished."

When asked about this and whether such remarks motivate him further ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton explained: "I don't listen to those silly comments, to be honest.

"Ultimately, it's been interesting to see. There's quite a lot of disrespectful comments that I've seen over time, but it's to be expected. I just keep my head down.

"I know who I am. I know what I do. I love what I do."

Hamilton also vowed to keep fighting as Mercedes continue to work towards solving their car issues.

"[We're] going through a tough time," he added.

"We didn't come out the starting blocks the way we wanted, but we're fighters. And if you don't know that about me, then you just don't know me, and that's totally fine.

"I'll keep doing my best to huddle up and group up with the team, and fight as hard as we can."