Mercedes have insisted Lewis Hamilton DIDN'T give his F1 trophy to a fan over the weekend.
The Briton secured third in the F1 Drivers' Championship this season, meaning he was gifted a prize by the FIA as a result.
A fan on social media then claimed Hamilton had given him his trophy as a 'gift'.
Hamilton has a rocky relationship with the FIA, with the veteran still seething at his failure to win the F1 title back in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton finished third in F1 last season
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Yet Mercedes have denied the Stevenage-born racer gave his trophy away, insisting speculation was wide of the mark.
“Immediately after leaving the stage, and as has been done at previous prize givings, Lewis accepted the offer from officials for the trophy to be sent on to the team and therefore left it in their care," a statement read.
“We can confirm he did not give the trophy to anyone ‘as a gift’ as has been speculated.”
The fan who claimed Hamilton had given his trophy away has also taken to social media again.
And they insist there was a 'misunderstanding', while adding Hamilton believed he was a member of the Mercedes team.
"Hello, good evening," they said on X.
"I am very disappointed to see messages written to me like thief or something.
"First of all I want to say I didn't steal anything from anywhere.
“This is just a misunderstanding. Lewis Hamilton put the award on the table. I asked him if I could take the prize.
“He said to me, yes, you can take the prize. And I thought he gifted me the award.
"But now, after seeing the statement from Mercedes, I understand that Lewis did not gift me the award.
"He mistakenly thought I was the Fia official in charge of the award.”
Hamilton was once the best driver in F1.
But he's struggled over the past two years, with Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominating the sport instead.
Hamilton is, however, optimistic they can close the gap on their rivals and challenge for Formula One supremacy once again.
"I'm not an engineer or a designer. So it's not easy," he said.
"It's always an exciting time of the year because I have seen the current car in the wind tunnel.
"I always go by the wind tunnel when I go to the factory to see it evolving in whichever direction it ends up going."
And Hamilton also feels his car will be a 'different animal' by the time the new season begins.
"I popped in just to see where we were and when I come back it will be again a different animal," he said.
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Lewis Hamilton feels Mercedes have a bright future in F1
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"But I have full faith in everyone that's working on it and I'm hopeful that we will be in a much more competitive position next year."
