Well-known British figure ridicules Hamilton in weird rant

Well-known British television figure Jeremy Clarkson has ridiculed Lewis Hamilton in a weird rant, taking aim at the Ferrari driver's first week at Maranello.

Clarkson, best known for being a former Top Gear host, is a big Formula 1 fan, and is often spotted at various grands prix. 

However, he has taken aim at Hamilton, who celebrated his first week as a Ferrari driver. 

Last Monday, the seven-time world champion visited Maranello for the first time, before driving the team's 2023 car in a test on Wednesday. 

Over 2,000 fans watched on at the Fiorano circuit in awe, although Clarkson has criticised the 40-year-old for spending so much time talking to fans and posing for social media content.

"It could be argued that Lewis Hamilton wants a record-breaking eighth world championship before he retires, and moved to Ferrari because he reckons that this year they will have the fastest car," Clarkson wrote in his The Sun column.

"He may have a point. Early indications on the rumour mill suggest it’s very fast indeed.

"However, if he’s so keen on that eighth world title, you’d imagine that he’d have arrived at the factory on day one, keen to know the car’s secrets and how he can extract the most from its vast arsenal of racing trickery.

"Instead, he turned up in an SUV in a suit and tie and posed for pictures before talking to fans, under the watchful eye of a video drone which luckily was there to capture the moment.

"Next, there was a tour of the team’s headquarters where, in slow motion, we saw the fawning engineers and the applause."

Hamilton helicopter preference

In Clarkson's eyes, Hamilton knows he is "past his prime", with a move to Ferrari being more a case of ticking a box before retiring from F1. 

The 105-time race winner will face an immense challenge alongside Charles Leclerc, who Clarkson believes could cause problems for Hamilton. 

However, what Clarkson does not understand, is why Hamilton does not live close to Maranello or travel to the factory in a Ferrari, according to his own information.

"And then, eventually, he went on to the track, in an F1 Ferrari that’s three years old," continued Clarkson. "I’m told his new house isn’t anywhere near the team’s HQ. It’s in Milan, and he doesn’t even commute in a Ferrari road car, choosing instead to use Fiat’s helicopter.

"It made me wonder. What is Lewis now? A driver? Or a superstar? What I do know is he’ll have his work cut out to beat his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who speaks Italian, knows the team, doesn’t spend quite so long posing for pictures and, thanks to a single-lap shootout, is regarded by many to be the fastest driver of them all.

"Maybe Lewis is aware of this. And maybe he signed for Ferrari for a different reason – he knows he’s past his prime now and he didn’t want to retire having never driven for motorsport’s crown jewel. Either way, I wish him well."