Twitter: Lewis Hamilton made a “mistake in judgment” according to Whitmarsh
Active on the social media platform with the blue bird, Lewis Hamilton was at the center this weekend of several debates related to a few tweets that, despite their short lifespan, did not fail to spark conversation, starting with the leaders of his own team, McLaren.
The weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix was marked by Jenson Button’s victory and Fernando Alonso’s retirement, but it also seems to have been a weekend of judgment errors. While Romain Grosjean’s mistake at the start of the race overshadowed all other sporting or extra-sporting controversies, Lewis Hamilton was guilty of a similar error, according to Martin Whitmarsh, the director of McLaren, when he posted on the social network Twitter a photo of a telemetry sheet comparing his own qualifying performance to that of his teammate. This photo notably provides information on the car’s settings, such as the ride height of the McLaren.
The Briton, who had already made headlines right after the qualifying session by posting two tweets then removing them, obviously did not act with the approval of his team. “I think he made an error of judgment, and we asked him to remove [that image] and he did,” Martin Whitmarsh told our colleagues at Autosport. “I think he understood, and I don’t think it impacted his weekend.”
To the question of whether such behavior is a breach of confidentiality, Mr. Whitmarsh is cautious: “I don’t think… no. It would be interesting to see how other team directors would have managed that. But I think, no, it was a lapse in judgment, it was corrected very quickly, and he apologized. Let’s move on.” When asked about the matter, Christian Horner, the director of Red Bull Racing, was more firm: “[Our drivers] couldn’t have done it. It would indeed have been a breach of confidentiality.” As for the tweet itself, C. Horner indicates he hadn’t seen it in detail: “If it was about the cars’ data, I’m sure every engineer in the pitlane will take a very close look at it.”
On Paddy Lowe’s side, McLaren’s technical director, it’s the symbolism behind this gesture that is highlighted more than the content of the data revealed: « The Internet has an infinite memory, and I’m sure that tweet left some traces. Several engineers questioned me, it wasn’t great, but in reality, it’s safer that we don’t share the data with the world. That data won’t be of much use to anyone, I don’t think much harm is done. The real mistake Lewis made, which he understood, is that he didn’t really consider the nature of this information. Engineers don’t like to see this because we spend our lives trying to keep things like that secret. It’s about what it represents. »
Same story for Jenson Button, who took pole and won the Grand Prix at Spa, as reported by our colleagues at the Guardian: « We work very hard to improve the car and keep information like this secret and private. I don’t want to see it on Twitter. It was all of the qualifying telemetry. It wasn’t just the rear wing ». Lewis Hamilton was frustrated by the speed difference between the two cars equipped with different rear wings. The 2009 world champion continued: « I was very surprised and disappointed. Now, it’s done. I don’t think it’s up to me to be angry with Lewis. It’s not a personal thing. » Regarding qualifying performance, the Brit adds: « The part about straight-line speed isn’t what matters to me. He should have regained that time in the corners because he had more downforce. And I was still eight tenths faster. »
Finally, for some observers of the F1 Circus, like Gary Anderson, former engineer at Jordan, Stewart, and Jaguar, now a consultant for the BBC, L. Hamilton showed immaturity: “I believe that Button’s incredible lap in Q2, which was nine-tenths faster than Hamilton’s, freaked Lewis out. It’s as if Hamilton couldn’t cope with it, he missed Q3 and started tweeting stupid things.”
The Northern Irish consultant continued on the BBC Sport website: « Hamilton is no longer a child. He is 27 years old, a top Grand Prix driver, and a former World Champion. He has credibility, so tweeting certain things like he did on Saturday night […] it wasn’t very good for his image. I have to say it was childish. If he were my driver, he would have been scolded after the first tweet, but that doesn’t happen anymore today. It’s completely unacceptable. Even if it doesn’t reveal anything significant, opening this mine of information just shows how naive Hamilton is, how small his understanding of the movie is. In F1, you have to keep your secrets like a squirrel keeps its nuts. »
