Lewis Hamilton made his feelings clear as he leapt to the defence of this year’s crop of Formula 1 rookies.

Lewis Hamilton has slammed the negativity of some ‘older’ former and current F1 drivers (Image: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton vowed to never criticise young Formula 1 drivers as he slammed the “older guys” who have negative things to say. His comments echo those he made in 2022 when he said “older voices” should not be given a platform, in response to former F1 world champion Nelson Piquet’s racist comment about him.

This time, he said it when answering a question about the flock of rookies on this year’s grid. Many of them have had impressive debut seasons, but also difficult moments which, inevitably in the era of social media, let to criticism of their ability and status as F1 drivers.

But, as Hamilton has pointed out, the negativity comes not only from fans but also, at times, from other drivers past and present in quotes given to and reported by the media. And the 40-year-old says he will never make such comments as he heaped praise on what this year’s F1 rookies have achieved.

He said: “It’s great to see young talent coming through. I remember getting here in 2007 and being one of them. It’s an amazing experience, but before you get here you have all these preconceived ideas of what it would be like and most often, it kind of doesn’t equal to what you amounted it to be.

“Maybe the driving does, but then there’s all the other things that are around and the pressure is hugely high. These youngsters are getting bombarded with questions and obviously the social media. But I think they’ve all been handling it really, really well.”

He went on to criticise those who speak ill in public of younger drivers in their more difficult moments, adding: “I’ve really always wanted to be a driver that’s… even when I leave here, I will always be someone that’s supporting the young.

Lewis Hamilton heaped praise upon rookie F1 drivers (Image: Getty)

“You hear so many of these negative things coming from these older guys, these older drivers that more often than not, didn’t achieve much as it is. And I think I just love to see these guys that, just keeping their heads down, doing it with a smile and doing what they love and succeeding. So I’m as excited to see the progression of their careers.”

But Hamilton also made it clear at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix this weekend that he doesn’t plan to be on the outside looking in any time soon. The Ferrari driver said: “I have a pretty long contract. Normally when you do a contract it is the year out that you start to talk about it, so I am a bit far from that point.”