Hamilton criticizes Button on Twitter then apologizes, is the Daily Mirror to blame?
On the night from Sunday to Monday, Lewis Hamilton once again spoke out on Twitter, accusing Jenson Button of no longer following him on the social network. Problem: this mini-controversy had already ended a week ago when the 2009 World Champion confirmed he had never followed his teammate. Upon learning this, Lewis Hamilton apologized. This episode seems to follow a dubious article published by the Daily Mirror this Saturday.
Already at the center of controversy during the Belgian Grand Prix, with the publication of messages showing frustration and especially confidential telemetry information, Lewis Hamilton’s Twitter account is once again the scene of a spectacular episode, this time involving Jenson Button, in the current context of the McLaren driver’s move to Mercedes starting in 2013, a sign of tensions between the 2008 World Champion and his 2009 successor.
Thus, on the night from Sunday to Monday, Lewis Hamilton accused Jenson Button of no longer following him on the micro-blogging site: « I just noticed that @JensonButton unfollowed, it’s a shame. After 3 years as teammates, I thought we respected each other, but clearly that’s not the case. Funny thing is, we are STILL teammates! Everything is fine though, I plan to give everything I have to this team and the fans until I cross the finish line in Brazil!!! » he wrote in two messages posted around 12:35 AM French time.
Just noticed @jensonbutton unfollowed, that’s a shame. After 3 years as teammates, I thought we respected one another but clearly he doesn’t. — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) October 7, 2012
Funny thing is, we are STILL teammates! All good tho, I plan on giving this team & fans all I got til I cross the finish line
Only, Jenson Button, responding to a tweet from Jonathan Noble, a journalist for Autosport, had already confirmed on October 1st that he had never followed Lewis Hamilton on Twitter. « […] Jenson Button stopped following Lewis Hamilton on Twitter… and added Sergio Pérez instead » the English journalist had written on September 28, to which the 2009 World Champion replied with a touch of humor: « I never followed him… But that would make a great article!! »
@noblef1 Never followed him… Makes a story though!!
— Jenson Button (@JensonButton) October 1, 2012
Probably prompted by his followers’ reactions, Lewis Hamilton therefore revisited his comments less than an hour after the original messages: « My bad, I just realized that Jenson never followed me. Don’t blame him! I should be on Twitter more often! »
My bad, just found out Jenson never followed me. Don’t blame him! Need to be on Twitter more!
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) Octobre 7, 2012
It then becomes appropriate to ask how Lewis Hamilton could have fallen victim to this misinformation, and this just a week after Jenson Button’s clarification. According to our findings, a possible answer seems evident: the Daily Mirror published on Saturday, October 6 an article containing the erroneous information, which could easily be described as far from any professionalism and basic journalistic ethics.
It is therefore likely that this inappropriate backlash still reached Lewis Hamilton through some of his followers on Twitter, and that the 2008 World Champion did not have, like his informers and the Daily Mirror initially, the reflex to verify the source and quality of this information. However, the fact that he felt the need to comment on it publicly on Twitter, whether the information is false or not, speaks volumes about the more than tense relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
