Seven-time World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton might want to recount his Drivers’ Championships, after Mercedes’ title partner Petronas hailed the 37-year-old as an eight-time World Champion.
The comical blunder occurred during a trip by Hamilton, George Russell, and team principal Toto Wolff, to Petronas’ headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mercedes were present at the Petronas towers to unveil the extension of their partnership with the company to beyond 2026, when the new engine regulations will be introduced.
Part of the new regulations coming in four years includes 100 percent sustainable fuel, which the Malaysian company will now start work on.
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Petronas has been the Silver Arrows title and technical partner since they re-joined the championship in 2010, where the duo formed the most successful partnership in the sport’s history.
Whilst being Mercedes’ partner, the Germans have won eight Constructors’ Championships, seven Drivers’ Championships, and 115 races.
Despite all the success the pair have shared together, it didn’t stop the Malaysian company’s media officer from making a huge error, which was quickly picked up on by Reddit.
When Hamilton entered the room to a huge cheer from Petronas employees, the company’s official Instagram account put up a video with the caption “A worthy welcome for the 8x champ”.
To give Petronas credit, they took the mistake like a champion, and quickly reshared their error with a new caption, which said, “Whoops! Got a bit mixed up because of all the excitement. Thanks for the DMs guys!”
This was followed by “7x” in a larger font.
Hamilton was, of course, robbed of an unprecedented eighth World Championship at the “manipulated” 2021 season finale, where the Briton was overtaken on the last lap by Max Verstappen, who therefore won the championship.
Had the rulebook been followed by former race director Michael Masi, then Hamilton would be an eight-time World Champion and most importantly Petronas would be correct!
Hamilton is now preparing for the returning Singapore Grand Prix, which is taking place for the first time since 2019 following the Coronavirus pandemic, which caused havoc for the Asian races on the calendar.
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The Brit is still yet to win a race this season, meaning his own record of having won a race in every season he’s competed in is at serious risk.
He is currently the only driver in the history of the sport to have won every year since his rookie season, which was, of course, back in 2007.
He has just six races left to claim a victory to extend his record, with his best bet predicted to be at either the Japanese or United States Grand Prix.