A marshal working the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend has quit after directing a horrific comment at Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton said in December ahead of the inaugural race in Jeddah that he did not feel “comfortable” racing in Saudi Arabia, and the Briton reiterated that point to the media this weekend.
“I don’t really know what to say. My position is still the same as when I spoke here last year,” he said.
“There’s not really a lot that I can say that’s going to make much of a difference,” he continued. “It’s obviously mind-blowing to hear the stories… I’ve heard that there’s a letter sent to me from a 14-year-old that’s on death row… When you are 14 you don’t know what the hell you are doing in life, so it’s…
“But we don’t decide where we go. I think we are duty-bound to try [to make a difference] while we are here, it’s not necessarily our responsibility when we are brought here, but we try and do what we can.”
A marshal at the race this weekend took to Twitter to try and denounce the seven-time world champion, wishing upon him an accident akin to Romain Grosjean’s terrifying crash in Bahrain in 2020.
“I hope he has an accident like Roman (sic) accident in Bahrain,” read his message.
“The Saudi authorities do not respond to dogs. If a person saw him, they would have responded to him.”
He has since apologised for his remarks and is no longer part of the event at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
“I offer my apologies to the Saudi Motorsports and Motorcycle Federation. And for driver Lewis Hamilton. On my previous tweet, I announced (sic) my withdrawal from the ring [race].”
Hamilton qualified 16th in Jeddah on Saturday, and told media after his underwhelming exit in Q1 that he is “looking forward to going home.”