Lewis Hamilton today walked out of a Mercedes press briefing having refused to answer questions from the attending reporters.
Hamilton cited the coverage of his use of Snapchat at a press conference on Thursday as the reason for his withdrawn stance. The Mercedes driver had been using the image messaging app during the press event, placing comedy filters over his own face as well as Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz.
The 31-year old drew criticism from large portions of the press, who claimed his actions were disrespectful. Though Hamilton didn't answer questions at today's event, sitting quietly while repeatedly tapping his microphone, he did talk openly about his disapproval the coverage that the incident had received.
“I’m not actually here to answer your questions, I’ve decided. With the utmost respect there are many of you here who are super-supportive of me and I know who they are.
“There are others who unfortunately often take advantage of certain things. The other day was a super light-hearted thing.”
“If I was disrespectful to any of you guys, or if you felt that I was disrespectful, it was honestly not the intention. It was just a little bit fun.
“But what was more disrespectful is what was then written, worldwide. There are some people here and it’s not them that’s done it, and the decision I will take unfortunately affects those who have been super-supportive.
Before leaving the stage, the current F1 champion signed off by casting doubt over his attendance of future press events.
“But I don’t really plan on sitting here many more times for these kind of things. So my apologies and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of the weekend.”
Via The Guardian
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
